Morgan Stanley is diving headfirst into crypto, and this time they’re not just chasing the big fish. The Wall Street titan plans to roll out crypto trading on its E*Trade platform by 2026, targeting everyday investors who want a piece of the digital asset pie. Internal projections suggest the initiative will attract 1.2 million users within six months of launch. Talk about a plot twist – the same banks that once snubbed Bitcoin are now scrambling to get in on the action.
Wall Street giant Morgan Stanley flips the script, bringing crypto trading to Main Street through E*Trade’s massive retail platform.
The timing couldn’t be more interesting. With Bitcoin projected to hit $96,000 in 2025 and the U.S. regulatory environment finally warming up to crypto, Morgan Stanley‘s move feels less like a gamble and more like calculated opportunism. Recent data suggests we’re entering a bull market phase, with sustained price increases and high investor confidence across major cryptocurrencies. The Trump administration’s pro-crypto stance, complete with a strategic Bitcoin reserve, has certainly helped grease the wheels. The bank already provides Bitcoin ETFs and futures for its wealthy clients.
This isn’t just another corporate press release to ignore. We’re talking about giving over 5 million E*Trade users direct access to crypto trading, right alongside their stocks and ETFs. Morgan Stanley, with its massive $1.7 trillion in client assets, is fundamentally telling Coinbase and Robinhood to watch their backs. Those crypto-native platforms pulled in $626 million in revenue last year – clearly, there’s money to be made.
The Federal Reserve‘s newfound crypto-friendly attitude has opened the floodgates. Other banks are watching Morgan Stanley like hawks, ready to jump in if this experiment works. SoFi’s already getting fidgety, and who can blame them? The crypto train is leaving the station, and nobody wants to be left behind.
What makes this particularly spicy is that Morgan Stanley isn’t just dipping a toe in – they’re cannonballing into the pool. Starting with Bitcoin and Ethereum trading, they’re leveraging E*Trade’s existing infrastructure to create something that could genuinely shake up the market. It’s a far cry from the days when Wall Street types dismissed crypto as internet funny money.
Sure, the project’s still in its early stages, but one thing’s clear: When a bank with Morgan Stanley’s clout makes a move like this, the game changes. The crypto world just got a little more mainstream, whether the purists like it or not.
