Morgan Stanley has launched cryptocurrency trading E*Trade by 0.5%, undermining Coinbase, Schwab and Robinhood in a beta trial set to reach 8.6 million users.
summary
- Morgan Stanley launched a pilot program for cryptocurrency E*Trade on May 6, charging 50 basis points per trade for Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana via infrastructure partner Zerohash.
- The 0.5% fee undercuts Charles Schwab’s fee at 75 basis points, Fidelity’s at 1%, and Coinbase’s hash fee which can exceed 0.5% depending on tier and payment method.
- All 8.6 million E*Trade customers are scheduled to have access later in 2026, along with a private digital wallet expected in the second half of the year.
Morgan Stanley launched ECryptocurrency trading has a flat fee of 0.5%, lower than Coinbase and Schwab. The beta program launched on May 6 with Bitcoin, Ether, and Solana available directly within EBrokerage accounts trade via Zerohash, which handles liquidity, custody and settlement. Bloomberg I mentioned Pricing, which places Morgan Stanley below every major retail competitor.
Schwab launched its spot Bitcoin and Ether trading in April at 75 basis points. Fidelity charges approximately 1% per trade. Robinhood is commission-free but carries spreads ranging from 35 to 95 basis points per transaction.
ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas He said “Competitors probably won’t allow this” and expected fees across the industry will shrink sharply, paralleling the race to zero expense ratios among Bitcoin ETFs.
What the service includes
Clients gain direct ownership of digital assets rather than exposure to funds, eliminating third-party management fees but entailing greater price risk. Pilot does not support staking yet. Zerohash manages all background processes, keeping private keys away from users.
Such as crypto.news trackingETrade’s cryptocurrency rollout is part of a broader digital asset push that includes Morgan Stanley’s MSBT Bitcoin ETF, which launched on April 8 with an expense ratio of 0.14% and reached $103 million in inflows within days.
The bank is also building a private digital wallet expected in the second half of 2026, designed to hold cryptocurrencies alongside tokenized stocks, bonds and real estate. Jed Finn, head of wealth management at Morgan Stanley, previously described the launch of cryptocurrency trading as “just the beginning.”
Competitive and market impacts
anyThe trade launch arrives as crypto.news I mentioned Morgan Stanley is also seeking the OCC’s National Trust Bank charter for crypto custody and direct staking.
Coinbase generated $3.32 billion in revenue from consumer transactions in 2025 and launched its own commission-free stock and ETF trading in February to compete with traditional brokerages.
Morgan Stanley’s 16,000 financial advisors oversee $9.3 trillion in client assets, giving…Trade across distribution channels that cannot match native crypto platforms. If the 8.6 million user count reaches full scale, it will represent one of the largest retail cryptocurrency trades in the US brokerage market.
