Morgan Stanley Charges 0.50% Crypto Fees for 8.6M E*Trade Accounts
Morgan Stanley has rolled out a pilot for cryptocurrency trading on its 8.6 million-customer E*Trade platform at 50 basis points per transaction, undercutting Robinhood’s 95bp, Coinbase’s 60bp and Schwab’s 75bp. The move forms part of a wider digital assets push including a Bitcoin ETF debut and trust charter application.
1. E*Trade Crypto Pilot Launch
Morgan Stanley has initiated a pilot program offering cryptocurrency trading on its ETrade platform at a 50 basis point fee for Bitcoin, Ether and Solana transactions. The service will expand to all 8.6 million ETrade customers later this year.
2. Competitive Pricing Pressure
Morgan Stanley’s 0.50% transaction rate undercuts Robinhood’s 95 basis point fee, Coinbase’s 60 basis point rate and Schwab’s 75 basis point pricing, positioning E*Trade to attract cost-conscious retail crypto investors.
3. Broader Digital Assets Strategy
The crypto rollout complements Morgan Stanley’s wider digital assets agenda, which includes debuting a Bitcoin ETF, developing Ether and Solana ETFs, applying for a national trust bank charter for custody services, and planning tokenized equity trading in H2.
4. Implications for Retail Brokerage Market
By integrating crypto trading into an established brokerage environment, Morgan Stanley is intensifying competition with crypto-native platforms and could pressure rivals’ transaction volumes and revenue streams in the expanding digital assets sector.