- Morgan Stanley will soon enable retail investors to trade digital assets on its E*Trade platform, expanding access to crypto markets.
- The move aligns with recent regulatory shifts under President Trump, building a more crypto-friendly environment for financial firms.
- E*Trade’s new “Power ETrade Pro” platform will enhance tools for active traders when launched in June of this year.
Investors will soon be able to trade digital assets on Morgan Stanley’s E*Trade platform, according to reports by the investment management firm. In doing so, the company, which boasts about $1.5 trillion in assets under management (AUM), would become one of the first US banks to offer direct crypto retail services.
Morgan Stanley Eyes Retail Crypto Market Amid Pro-Bitcoin U.S. Policy Shift
According to reports by Bloomberg, the recent development is still in its infancy and may not be ready for customers to use until next year. In the meantime, the bank is seeking to collaborate with cryptocurrency firms to support the technical aspects of backend trading.
Morgan Stanley isn’t new to the crypto space and already offers crypto-based products, including Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) and derivative contracts, to wealthy investors. However, this new strategy adopts a democratized approach that also targets retail investors.
Talks about offering crypto-related services picked up pace after President Trump emerged victorious at the polls. Several crypto-friendly regulatory moves have headlined his first three months in office. Shortly after this inauguration, Trump established a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and hosted the first-ever White House digital assets summit.
US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick also reiterated the president’s goal of supporting the advancement of the apex asset in the country. The president’s pro-crypto stance has seen some financial institutions incorporate crypto products into their financial offerings. Experts believe that Morgan Stanley could rival top industry service providers such as Coinbase and Kraken if its latest product hits the market. Meanwhile, other firms actively seek to penetrate the growing digital asset market with crypto-related products.
Regulatory Shift Sparks Crypto Momentum as Trading Platforms Gear Up for Expansion
Morgan Stanley’s recent announcement follows the recent regulatory changes by the government. On Thursday, the Federal Reserve repealed initial measures that discouraged financial firms from conducting cryptocurrency transactions. The recent amendment allows state member banks to carry out crypto activities without consulting the Fed. Works are underway to review the process through legislation.
Meanwhile, the recent move coincides with the heightened Bitcoin accumulation by corporate firms and Bitcoin’s recent price rally. It also comes as Bitcoin ETFs flip its previous outflow records. Morgan Stanley’s E*Trade platform could offer regulated exposure to investors aiming to own the asset.
Zooming out, E*Trade is set to improve active trading by unveiling a new platform, “Power E*Trade Pro.” The platform, which is still undergoing testing, will cater to active traders upon its launch later this year. Bloomberg reported that the new platform will offer over 120 customized tools across 12 displays. In addition, users could access the desktop option, alongside the existing web and mobile versions. In October 2020, Morgan Stanley added E*Trade to its array of products for a reported fee of $13 billion, thus expanding its retail client accounts by over 5 million.
