Morgan Stanley’s E*Trade is set to enter the cryptocurrency trading arena in 2026 in collaboration with the digital asset infrastructure provider Zerohash. This strategic move highlights the increasing engagement of Wall Street in the digital asset sector, especially in light of favorable legislation from the Trump administration.
Clients of ETrade will have the opportunity to purchase prominent cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), and Solana (SOL) in the first half of 2026, as confirmed by a spokesperson for Morgan Stanley to Reuters. This announcement aligns with earlier reports from Bloomberg in May, which indicated that the brokerage was planning to introduce crypto trading soon. At that time, Cointelegraph detailed that the initiative was still in its preliminary stages, as ETrade sought the necessary partnerships for infrastructure development.
Morgan Stanley acquired ETrade in 2020 for $13 billion, a move that significantly expanded its user base at the time to over 5.2 million. Historically focused on providing a retail-centered platform for trading regulated financial securities, ETrade has primarily catered to U.S. residents.
Zerohash, while not well-known in the cryptocurrency industry, has garnered attention by raising $104 million at a valuation of $1 billion, as reported by Fortune. The funding round was led by Interactive Brokers, with Morgan Stanley also participating. Zerohash specializes in providing crypto trading solutions, tokenization services, and infrastructure for stablecoins aimed at financial institutions and blockchain adopters. As part of their collaboration, Zerohash will develop a comprehensive wallet solution for E*Trade clients.
In the competitive landscape of discount brokerage crypto trading, E*Trade’s key rival is Robinhood, which has expanded its offerings by providing crypto trading and recently acquiring the exchange Bitstamp in a $200 million deal.
E*Trade’s entry into the cryptocurrency market is one of Morgan Stanley’s early moves directly targeting retail digital asset trading. The bank has already taken steps to deepen its involvement in cryptocurrencies. Since August 2024, Morgan Stanley has permitted its wealth advisers to actively promote spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds to eligible clients. Additionally, at the World Economic Forum in Davos earlier this year, CEO Ted Pick indicated that the bank is exploring the transactional aspects of cryptocurrencies.
Interestingly, Morgan Stanley was not included among the Wall Street firms exploring a collaborative stablecoin initiative, as reported by The Wall Street Journal in May. Competitors JPMorgan, Bank of America, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo were identified as participants in those discussions. Nonetheless, a paper authored by Andrew Peel, Morgan Stanley’s head of digital asset markets, argued that stablecoins could serve to enhance the global prominence of the U.S. dollar. This viewpoint resonates with recent regulatory movements aimed at establishing robust legislation for stablecoins, a sentiment bolstered by the enactment of the GENIUS Act, signed into law by former President Trump, which created a comprehensive framework for stablecoin issuers.
The stablecoin market is currently valued at approximately $300 billion, further fueling interest and participation from institutional players in the digital asset landscape.
