Morgan Stanley launched an E*Trade crypto trading pilot with 50 bps fees, undercutting Coinbase, Robinhood and Schwab retail pricing.
Bitcoin News
Morgan Stanley launched a cryptocurrency trading pilot on its E*Trade platform on May 6, 2026, charging 50 basis points on the dollar value of each transaction. That rate sits below the standard retail pricing at Coinbase, Robinhood, and Charles Schwab, according to a Bloomberg report. A Morgan Stanley spokesperson confirmed that the fee structure and details in the report were accurate.
E*Trade currently has 8.6 million clients. Full access to the crypto trading offering is expected to roll out to those clients later in 2026. The service remains in a limited pilot phase as of the announcement date.
Wall Street Expands Into Retail Crypto Trading
The E*Trade pilot is part of a broader pattern of major US financial institutions entering retail cryptocurrency trading. Charles Schwab launched spot Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) trading for retail clients in April 2026, charging 75 basis points per transaction. Goldman Sachs filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in April 2026 to launch a Bitcoin Premium Income ETF, a fund structured to sell call options on Bitcoin exchange-traded products (ETPs) rather than hold BTC directly.
Morgan Stanley had already entered the Bitcoin ETF space roughly a month before the E*Trade pilot. The bank's spot Bitcoin ETF, trading under the ticker MSBT on NYSE Arca, recorded $30.6 million in inflows on its first day of trading. The E*Trade pilot extends that push into direct retail trading access.
Related Article: Morgan Stanley Launches Bitcoin ETF This Wednesday
BNY Mellon was among the first major US banks to build dedicated cryptocurrency infrastructure. It launched a digital asset custody platform in October 2022, allowing select clients to hold and transfer BTC and ETH within the United States.
Fee Competition Remains Intense Across Platforms
E*Trade's 50-basis-point fee is competitive against standard retail rates but does not represent the lowest available pricing in the market. Kraken Pro and certain Coinbase Advanced tiers offer lower rates for active traders. The E*Trade rate nonetheless undercuts standard retail pricing at three of the largest US crypto and brokerage platforms, according to the Bloomberg report.
The pilot illustrates how traditional financial institutions are expanding beyond custody services and ETF products into direct trading access. The shift comes as banks work to retain retail clients who might otherwise use crypto-native platforms for their trading activity.
This article contains links to third-party websites or other content for information purposes only (“Third-Party Sites”). The Third-Party Sites are not under the control of CoinMarketCap, and CoinMarketCap is not responsible for the content of any Third-Party Site, including without limitation any link contained in a Third-Party Site, or any changes or updates to a Third-Party Site. CoinMarketCap is providing these links to you only as a convenience, and the inclusion of any link does not imply endorsement, approval or recommendation by CoinMarketCap of the site or any association with its operators. This article is intended to be used and must be used for informational purposes only. It is important to do your own research and analysis before making any material decisions related to any of the products or services described. This article is not intended as, and shall not be construed as, financial advice. The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s [company’s] own and do not necessarily reflect those of CoinMarketCap.
