Morgan Stanley is set to integrate cryptocurrency trading into its digital investing platform, E*Trade, beginning in early 2026. This initiative marks a significant step by the banking giant to align with the growing demand for digital assets, joining a series of U.S. banks and investment firms embracing cryptocurrency. The firm has partnered with Zerohash, a digital asset infrastructure platform, to facilitate this new offering.
Initially, Morgan Stanley will allow trading of major cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, ether, and Solana. Jed Finn, the head of wealth management at Morgan Stanley, emphasized the importance of providing clients with access to a diverse range of assets. “The underlying technology has been proven and blockchain-based infrastructure is obviously here to stay,” Finn stated, highlighting the shift towards an integrated ecosystem where clients can manage digitized and traditional assets alongside cryptocurrencies.
Zerohash recently announced reaching unicorn status with a valuation of $1 billion after securing $104 million in a funding round led by Interactive Brokers, with participation from Morgan Stanley, SoFi, and others. This round has boosted Zerohash’s total funding to $275 million. Edward Woodford, the CEO of Zerohash, expressed confidence in the company’s future, declaring, “We are building the AWS of on-chain infrastructure.” He indicated that the wave of cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, and tokenization is not a future prospect but a current reality.
Demand for enterprise on-chain infrastructure is rapidly increasing among banks, with executives reportedly dedicating over half their time to fostering on-chain innovation. Adam Berg, CFO at Zerohash, pointed out that many large bank CEOs are actively pursuing this innovation. Zerohash aims to provide infrastructure for various types of digital assets, including cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, and tokenized assets, acknowledging that they all share a fundamental technology stack.
Woodford elaborated on this synergy, stating, “ETH, USDC.ETH, and a tokenized stock on ETH are all built on the same technical stack.” He stressed that financial institutions will find value in leveraging multiple types of digital assets. For instance, Interactive Brokers is collaborating with Zerohash to extend its services into stablecoin account funding.
Zerohash is designed to cater to banks of all sizes and currently collaborates with neobanks such as Current and MoneyLion, alongside its partnership with Morgan Stanley. The firm also partners with payment processors like Stripe and Shift4. Young Pham, chief strategy officer at CI&T, mentioned that the recent funding round signifies robust validation for Zerohash’s pivotal role in the cryptocurrency and stablecoin infrastructure landscape.
Pham noted a noticeable shift among traditional financial service clients, including banks and investment firms, who are increasingly eager to explore digital asset management as regulatory concerns ease. He stated, “This investment will encourage financial institutions to accelerate their capabilities around digital payments, asset custody, and settlement.” He added that the transition to stablecoins encompasses not just the volatility commonly associated with cryptocurrencies but also the reliability of service providers.
