One of Wall Street’s largest investment banks has integrated crypto trading into E*Trade, marking a clear break from traditional banking skepticism toward the industry. The service is currently in testing, but Bloomberg reports that it will become available to all 8.6 million platform clients later this year.
Morgan Stanley’s biggest advantage is pricing. The bank is charging 50 basis points per transaction. By comparison, Coinbase charges from 60 basis points, Charles Schwab charges 75 basis points, and Robinhood charges from 95 basis points. That positions Morgan Stanley as a price leader from the start.
Beyond Competitive Pricing
According to Jed Finn, head of wealth management at Morgan Stanley, cutting trading costs is only part of the broader strategy.
“This goes far beyond simply offering cryptocurrency trading at a lower rate. We want to keep clients inside our ecosystem instead of letting them move to dedicated crypto exchanges,” Finn said in an interview with Bloomberg.
The bank believes that traditional finance and decentralized finance will ultimately converge into a single market. As a result, building a presence in this segment is becoming a strategic necessity.