Morgan Stanley Launches Crypto Trading on E*Trade at 0.5% Fee

Morgan Stanley has rolled out a cryptocurrency trading pilot on its E*Trade platform, charging clients 50 basis points on the dollar value of each transaction. Bloomberg published the details on May 6, 2026. A Morgan Stanley spokesperson confirmed to CoinTelegraph that the conditions and fee structure described in the report are accurate.

Pilot Terms and Fee Comparison

The 0.5% fee applies to the dollar value of each crypto transaction and does not vary by asset or trade size. The pilot is operating in a limited mode: Morgan Stanley has not disclosed which cryptocurrencies are available or in which states the service is active. According to Bloomberg, the full launch for all 8.6 million E*Trade clients is scheduled for later in 2026.

Among major traditional brokerages, the 0.5% rate places Morgan Stanley below three direct rivals. Charles Schwab launched spot Bitcoin and Ethereum trading for retail clients in April 2026 at a 0.75% per-transaction fee. Standard Robinhood plans and the base Coinbase tier both cost retail clients more under normal trading conditions. Morgan Stanley has set the lowest entry-level fee among established US brokerages that have entered crypto so far in this cycle.

Lower rates exist only on dedicated crypto platforms. Kraken Pro, Binance, and Coinbase Advanced tiers offer smaller fees for high-volume and active traders. Those platforms require a separate account registration and are built for a different type of user than the typical brokerage client.

E*Trade's Client Base and What It Means

E*Trade is one of the largest retail brokerage platforms in the US. Most of its 8.6 million clients already hold stocks, bonds, and mutual funds through the platform. Morgan Stanley acquired E*Trade in 2020. Adding crypto to the same interface removes a practical barrier for existing clients. No new account, no additional identity check, no fund transfer to a separate platform.

There is also a regulatory dimension. E*Trade is a FINRA-regulated broker. Retail investors who avoided crypto because of concerns about the reliability of specialized exchanges get a familiar oversight structure here. Morgan Stanley confirmed the accuracy of Bloomberg's reporting but gave no details on the timeline for a broad launch.

Even at a 5% adoption rate, the pilot could bring more than 430,000 new crypto market participants who gain access through an existing brokerage account. That is an audience that previously sat on the sidelines because of the barrier of opening a separate platform.

Bitcoin ETF and Morgan Stanley's Prior Moves

The E*Trade pilot arrived about a month after Morgan Stanley listed a spot Bitcoin ETF under the ticker MSBT on NYSE Arca. The fund pulled in $30.6 million on its first trading day. MSBT and the E*Trade crypto section cover two distinct use cases: passive exposure to Bitcoin through a fund for long-term holders and direct spot buying and selling for those who want to trade actively.

Goldman Sachs is moving along a similar path. In April, the bank filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission for a Bitcoin Premium Income ETF. That fund would generate returns by selling call options on Bitcoin products without holding the coins directly. BNY Mellon launched a digital asset custody platform back in October 2022, becoming the first major US bank to open this segment to select clients.

Two Launches in Two Weeks

Schwab went live with spot crypto trading in April, Morgan Stanley through E*Trade in May. The back-to-back timing is tied to the regulatory picture in Washington. Congress is pushing the CLARITY Act and stablecoin rules toward final hearings. The SEC has clarified its stance on several categories of digital assets. Clearer rules give large financial firms confidence to ship new products without running into restrictions later.

For the US retail market, the direction is clear. The number of platforms where someone can buy crypto through a standard brokerage account keeps growing. If the E*Trade pilot converts to a full product in 2026, 8.6 million Morgan Stanley clients will have a new on-ramp that requires no separate registration. The competition among Schwab, Robinhood, Coinbase, and Morgan Stanley for this segment is already pushing fees lower across the sector.