Morgan Stanley Pilots Spot Crypto Trading on E*Trade with 50-Basis-Point Fee

According to Bloomberg, Morgan Stanley launched spot cryptocurrency trading on its ETrade retail brokerage platform on Wednesday (May 6), charging clients 50 basis points on each transaction. The pilot is live now, with all 8.6 million ETrade clients expected to gain access later this year.

The 50-basis-point fee undercuts Charles Schwab's 75 basis points, though both remain significantly higher than bitcoin ETFs, which trade at around 2 basis points. Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas noted that Schwab "likely won't let this stand," while observing that ETFs remain "the way bigger cash magnet at least for now."