Morgan Stanley Pilots Crypto Trading on E*Trade Platform

TLDR Morgan Stanley has launched a spot cryptocurrency trading pilot on its E*Trade retail brokerage platform. The bank is charging clients 50 basis points on the dollar value of each crypto transaction. The pilot is currently live and Morgan Stanley plans to extend access to all 8.6 million E*Trade clients later this year. Jed Finn said the initiative is part of a broader strategy and described it as disintermediating the disintermediators. Bloomberg reported that the new fee is lower than Charles Schwab’s 75-basis-point fee for similar services. Morgan Stanley has launched spot cryptocurrency trading on its ETrade retail brokerage platform, according to Bloomberg. The bank charges 50 basis points per transaction and has started a live pilot. It plans to extend access to all 8.6 million ETrade clients later this year. Morgan Stanley Expands Crypto Access Through E*Trade Pilot Morgan Stanley rolled out spot cryptocurrency trading for select E*Trade clients as part of a pilot program. The bank charges a 50-basis-point fee on each crypto transaction. Bloomberg reported that the pilot is active and broader access will follow this year. The bank manages the sixth-largest U.S. assets by assets under management. Jed Finn, head of wealth management, outlined the broader strategy behind the move. He said, “This is much bigger than trading crypto at a cheaper rate,” and called it “disintermediating the disintermediators.” Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas compared the new fee with competitors. He said Charles Schwab charges 75 basis points for similar services. He added that Schwab “likely won’t let this stand,” in a post on X. SHOTS FIRED: Morgan Stanley is rolling out crypto trading on its E*Trade platform for 50bps/trade, undercutting Schwab's 75bps (who undercut Coinbase). If I know Schwab, they likely won't let this stand. Others will prob undercut too. By the time the dust settles it'll be pretty… pic.twitter.com/CEnZ3zmTPm — Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas...