Morgan Stanley’s E-Trade Seeks Fed Approval to Offer Bitcoin Trading Amid Trump-Era Regulatory Shift

Jan 2, 2025, 02:28 PM

Morgan Stanley's E-Trade is exploring offering spot cryptocurrency trading services, including Bitcoin, pending approval from the Federal Reserve, according to The Information. The move anticipates a more favorable regulatory environment under the incoming Trump administration. If implemented, E-Trade, which has approximately 5.5 million retail accounts, 2 million corporate accounts, and manages over $360 billion in client assets, would become one of the largest retail brokerages to offer cryptocurrency trading. Morgan Stanley, with $1.5 trillion in assets under management, would join other mainstream financial firms entering the crypto market, increasing competition for established platforms like Coinbase.