Morgan Stanley's E*Trade will launch cryptocurrency trading in 2026 through a partnership with digital asset infrastructure provider Zerohash—highlighting Wall Street's deep engagement with digital assets under a series of supportive legislative measures during the Trump administration.
A Morgan Stanley spokesperson told Reuters that E*Trade customers will be able to purchase Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Solana (SOL) in the first half of 2026.
This announcement confirms a Bloomberg report from May 1 about the brokerage's plans to add cryptocurrency trading next year. At that time, Cointelegraph reported that the plan was still in its early stages as E*Trade was seeking partnerships with infrastructure providers.
E*Trade was acquired by Morgan Stanley for $13 billion in 2020. At the time of the deal, the discount brokerage had over 5.2 million users and offered a retail-focused regulated financial securities trading platform primarily for U.S. residents.
Zerohash is not a household name in the cryptocurrency space, but Fortune magazine reported on Tuesday that the company raised $104 million in a funding round led by Interactive Brokers, with a valuation of $1 billion. The company provides cryptocurrency trading, tokenization, and stablecoin infrastructure for financial institutions and other blockchain adopters. Morgan Stanley also participated in this funding round.
As Bloomberg noted, Zerohash will build a complete wallet solution for E*Trade customers.
E*Trade's biggest competitor in the discount brokerage cryptocurrency space may be Robinhood, which has rapidly expanded by offering cryptocurrency trading and recently acquired the exchange Bitstamp for $200 million.
While E*Trade's cryptocurrency launch represents one of Morgan Stanley's first direct retail moves into digital assets, the bank has already been deepening its presence in the field.
Since August 2024, Morgan Stanley has allowed its wealth advisors to actively promote spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds to eligible clients. Earlier this year at the World Economic Forum in Davos, CEO Ted Pick stated that the bank is also exploring trading in cryptocurrencies.
Interestingly, Morgan Stanley was not among the Wall Street firms reported in May to be considering a joint stablecoin initiative. According to The Wall Street Journal, JPMorgan, Bank of America, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo are exploring this idea.
Nevertheless, Andrew Peel, Morgan Stanley's head of digital asset markets, argued in a 2024 paper that stablecoins could strengthen the global dominance of the U.S. dollar—a view consistent with recent regulatory efforts to establish clear stablecoin legislation.
This perspective gained attention with the passage of the GENIUS Act, which was signed into law by U.S. President Donald Trump, establishing a comprehensive framework for stablecoin issuers.
Related: Forward Industries plans to tokenize its Nasdaq stock on Solana
Original: “Morgan Stanley's E*Trade to Launch Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Solana (SOL) Trading in 2026”
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