🔥 E*TRADE launches crypto spot trading: Wall Street retail access opens

E*TRADE, a subsidiary of Morgan Stanley, officially supports spot trading of BTC, ETH, and SOL. The fee is 0.5%, with custody provided by Zero Hash. Users can now see Apple stock and Bitcoin in the same account at the same time, and digital asset transfers are expected to be in place within the year.
The key point is the structure: one of the largest wealth management firms in the US has, for the first time, retail channels that natively support crypto spot trading. Previously, E*TRADE users who wanted to buy crypto had to go through external exchanges or Grayscale trusts; now they can buy spot directly, displayed alongside traditional investment portfolios, reducing psychological friction for retail users.
A 0.5% fee is on the high side; compared with Coinbase’s market-maker fee rates, it offers no advantage, suggesting the initial positioning is “convenience” rather than a “price war.” As the infrastructure provider, Zero Hash also hints that Morgan Stanley chose a middle ground on compliance and custody—not holding the coins itself, but outsourcing to licensed service providers.
On the risk side: E*TRADE’s customer base is mainly retirement accounts and long-term investors, which could mean more stable buy-side demand, but near-term liquidity impact may be limited. A 50 bps bid-ask spread means frequent trading isn’t cost-effective—more of a positioning/allocation-driven demand. Counterparty risk is concentrated in Zero Hash; if something goes wrong, the safety of users’ assets depends on insurance arrangements, but current details have not been disclosed.
Wall Street retail access is opening slowly but surely. The next thing to watch is whether other large brokerages will follow, and whether E*TRADE will lower fees or expand the range of supported coins.
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