Morgan Stanley (MS) is planning to bring cryptocurrency trading to its E*Trade platform, marking the most serious move yet by a major U.S. bank to offer retail users direct access to cryptocurrencies.
The initiative, still in early stages, could debut next year. The bank, Bloomberg reports, is weighing partnerships with crypto-native firms to help build out the infrastructure for spot trading.
The effort would mark a notable expansion of the firm’s crypto offerings, which currently include exchange-traded funds (ETFs), options, and futures contracts tailored to its wealthier clients. Internal discussions reportedly picked up after Donald Trump’s return to the White House last year sparked regulatory rollbacks across the crypto space.
Depending on how Morgan Stanley brings crypto trading to E*Trade, the move could heighten competition for crypto-native exchanges like Coinbase and Kraken.
Other institutions are following suit. Charles Schwab has signaled its own interest in adding spot trading, while SoFi is weighing a major push into the cryptocurrency space after seeing a “fundamental shift” in its landscape in the U.S.