Morgan Stanley, a multinational investment banking giant, is planning to introduce cryptocurrency trading on its e-trade platform by 2026. The recent decision by Morgan Stanley would be hailed as a landmark step for crypto adoption in the U.S. as a major bank brings digital assets like Bitcoin and Ether to retail investors.
The initiative, which is still in its early stages, is planned to be launched by the year 2026. According to a Bloomberg report , the firm is exploring partnerships with established crypto companies to enable secure trading. The firm is also working on a way to let regular people trade crypto securely.
As per the reports, the firm is planning to offer crypto trading after significant changes have been introduced in the US cryptocurrency framework under President Donald Trump, who has been considered a pro-crypto president.
Recently, Trump administration had cancelled an SEC rule that made it hard for banks to hold crypto assets safely for customers. Additionally, the Federal Reserve and the FDIC dropped their 2023 warnings that told banks to be cautious about crypto risks.
The Bank Policy Institute, a group representing big banks, cheered these changes, saying they allow financial institutions to create new crypto products and services.
Morgan Stanley started talking about adding more cryptocurrency options late last year, building on its current offerings like crypto ETFs and futures, which are available to its wealthy clients. The bank’s leaders now want to offer “spot trading” on its E-Trade platform, allowing regular people to buy and sell cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin directly.
This initiative desires to drum up the growing demand from everyday investors, and it could increase competition with companies like Robinhood, which made $626 million from crypto trading in the year 2024, and a major crypto exchange, Coinbase.
The firms’ push into crypto trading indicates a future where there will be more possibilities of more banks and financial platforms competing to offer crypto to customers, which will make the US market more crypto-friendly. The firm has been engaged in crypto for many years, and last year, the firm invested $188 million in a Bitcoin ETF.
