Morgan Stanley continues crypto push, plans wallet in the second half of 2026

Two years after acknowledging a "paradigm shift" in traditional finance, Morgan Stanley continues its about-face on cryptocurrency. The investment banking giant plans to launch bitcoin, ether, and solana trading on its E-Trade platform in the first half of this year, alongside plans for a proprietary digital wallet.

"This is really a recognition that the way that financial service infrastructure works is going to change," Jedd Finn, Morgan Stanley's head of wealth management, told Barron's. "Over time, as our infrastructure develops, we'll be able to do more with the blending of the traditional finance, or tradfi, and decentralized finance, or defi, ecosystems."

The report comes the same week Morgan Stanley filed S-1 registration statements with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for its own bitcoin, ether, and solana exchange-traded funds — a move that caught even veteran ETF analysts off guard. "Didn't see this coming," Bloomberg Intelligence analyst James Seyffart wrote in an X post on Tuesday. "I've been saying for literal years that most of these firms will change their tune on crypto."

A rapid shift

When spot bitcoin ETFs were approved for trading in January 2024, Morgan Stanley said that marked a "potential paradigm shift in the global perception and use of digital assets."

Indeed, since going live, spot bitcoin ETFs have generated more than $1.6 trillion in cumulative trading volume, according to The Block’s data dashboard. The 11 U.S. bitcoin ETFs now hold roughly $130 billion in assets under management, led by BlackRock’s IBIT, the fastest-growing ETF in history.

Later in 2024, Morgan Stanley said it would allow its wealth advisors to offer spot bitcoin ETFs to select high-net-worth clients, according to CNBC. One year later, the firm expanded crypto access to all client accounts, including retirement plans, following an executive order signed by President Donald Trump directing regulators to ease restrictions on crypto in 401(k) plans.

That expansion has been underpinned by infrastructure investments. Last September, Morgan Stanley participated in Zerohash’s $104 million Series D-2 round, a partnership that enables BTC, ETH, and SOL trading on E-Trade, which the firm expects to roll out in the first half of 2026.

"It all fits together in a broader strategy of adapting to the change in the industry and in some cases driving the change in the industry," Finn told Barron's.

Morgan Stanley’s push reflects a broader shift across Wall Street. JPMorgan, for instance, is reportedly evaluating crypto trading services for institutional clients, including potential spot and derivatives offerings, as major banks move to avoid being left behind.

"Consensus View: Institutions are slowly warming up to crypto," Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan posited this week on X. "Accurate View: Institutions are charging at crypto full-speed and see it as a key business priority."