Morgan Stanley is accelerating its digital asset strategy with two major moves that deepen its reach across retail trading and institutional-grade custody. In July 2026, the bank launched spot cryptocurrency trading for Bitcoin, Ether, and Solana on its E*TRADE platform, giving 8.6 million households access to buy, sell, and hold these assets within their existing brokerage accounts. The rollout follows a pilot that began in May and positions crypto holdings alongside traditional investments such as stocks and funds.
The E*TRADE service, powered by crypto infrastructure provider Zero Hash, charges a 50-basis-point fee per trade. Custody and transaction services are handled through separate Zero Hash accounts, which are not covered by FDIC or SIPC protections—an important distinction for investors accustomed to traditional brokerage safeguards. Morgan Stanley expects to eventually transition these digital asset services to Morgan Stanley Digital Trust, a national trust bank currently in organization that received preliminary conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) in June 2026.
The trust bank plan is a central pillar of Morgan Stanley’s custody strategy. The OCC’s approval allows the subsidiary to offer custody, transaction administration, fiduciary staking, and collateral support for affiliate digital-asset lending. This would bring many functions in-house that currently rely on third-party providers, potentially reducing handoffs and concentrating client relationships under one Wall Street umbrella. To meet regulatory requirements, Morgan Stanley Digital Trust must hold at least $50 million in Tier 1 capital and maintain enough liquidity to cover 180 days of operating costs.
The E*TRADE trading launch is just one piece of a broader push. In April 2026, Morgan Stanley introduced a stablecoin reserve offering that lets issuers hold backing assets in its money market funds while earning interest. That same month, it launched a spot Bitcoin ETF on NYSE Arca with a 0.14% management fee—the lowest in the U.S. market at the time—drawing over $100 million in net inflows in its first six trading days and now amassing about $385 million. The firm also amended filings for spot Ether and Solana ETFs, setting management fees at 0.14%.
Together, these moves signal that Morgan Stanley is treating crypto as a multi-line product category. By embedding spot trading, ETFs, stablecoin services, and a future in-house custody solution, the bank aims to capture both retail and institutional flows. For crypto-native exchanges and custodians, the expansion increases competitive pressure by offering mainstream investors a seamless, regulated alternative.
