A Morgan Stanley subsidiary is considering adding cryptocurrency services to its existing TradFi product suite.
According to The Information on Thursday, January 2, Morgan Stanley’s E-Trade is reportedly exploring the possibility of offering cryptocurrency and digital asset trading to its clients. E-Trade currently offers bonds, stocks, index funds and other traditional financial investment products. Morgan Stanley acquired the brokerage firm in 2020.
Expectations of crypto-friendly regulations under President Donald Trump’s administration are likely a harbinger of E-Trade’s eventual decision, the report said.
Bullish sentiment towards cryptocurrencies has surged following Trump’s victory in the US general election in November. His campaign promise to create a strategic Bitcoin (BTC) reserve, appointing crypto-savvy officials like David Sacks and Paul Atkins, and the post-election surge in Bitcoin value have bolstered the industry’s prospects for 2025.
Traditional banks like Goldman Sach have hinted at participating in cryptocurrency markets if regulators allow it. Goldman Sach also announced talks to restructure its digital assets platform as an independent company, raising hopes of a launch.
Asset managers are applying to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for more exchange-traded funds and are looking to move away from ETFs backed by Bitcoin and Ethereum (ETH).
Issuers such as Bitwise and Grayscale have applied to list Solana (SOL) and (XRP) ETFs, although the former may face regulatory hurdles by the time Trump takes office.
