Major U.S. banks are pushing deeper into digital assets as regulatory changes reshape strategy. Investment banking giant Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is reportedly preparing to allow E*Trade clients to trade cryptocurrencies, Bloomberg reported on Sept. 23. The bank is said to be working with crypto infrastructure provider Zerohash, with initial trading in bitcoin, ether and solana planned for the first half of next year. This development followed a May report that Morgan Stanley was exploring the addition of crypto trading to the E*Trade platform.

Jed Finn, Morgan Stanley’s head of wealth management, outlined the firm’s approach in an interview with the news outlet:

The underlying technology has been proven and blockchain-based infrastructure is obviously here to stay. Clients should have access to digitized assets, traditional assets and cryptocurrencies, all in the same ecosystem that they’re used to.

Zerohash Chief Executive Officer Edward Woodford commented: “Every bank that has a trading or private wealth arm will offer crypto to their customers as a spot contract. In the last year they’ve had the clarity in order to enter the space.” In its latest funding round, Zerohash successfully secured $104 million in Series D funding. The round was spearheaded by Interactive Brokers Group Inc., a major player in the financial services industry. This significant investment has pushed Zerohash’s valuation to $1 billion, solidifying its status as a unicorn startup. Notably, Morgan Stanley also participated in the funding round, joining the list of investors supporting Zerohash’s growth.

Morgan Stanley is also expected to launch a crypto asset-allocation strategy in the coming weeks, ranging from zero to a few percentage points of client portfolios. Broader uses of tokenization, including for settlement and clearing efficiencies, are under evaluation. While detractors highlight volatility and compliance risks, proponents view crypto access as a necessary step for modern wealth management platforms.

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