- E*Trade is entering the crypto market with the help of infrastructure provider Zerohash, initially offering trading for Bitcoin, Solana, and Ethereum.
- The move is a response to growing client demand for crypto exposure, a trend seen across Wall Street as the regulatory environment becomes more favourable.
- This integration follows Morgan Stanley’s 2020 acquisition of E*Trade and its recent decision to allow wealth advisers to pitch spot Bitcoin ETFs.
E*Trade, Morgan Stanley’s investment broker, is entering the crypto market with the help of infrastructure provider Zerohash.
While it’s not clear which range of cryptocurrencies it will cover, Bitcoin, Solana, and Ethereum will be available for trading, a spokesperson told Reuters.
E*Trade was acquired by Morgan Stanley in 2020 for US$13 billion (AU$19.9 billion) and already serves over 5 million customers. Since August last year, the company’s wealth advisers have been allowed to pitch spot Bitcoin ETFs as demand for crypto exposure grew exponentially.
Zerohash’s offering is more towards tokenisation and stablecoin infrastructure for financial institutions. The company was valued at US$1 billion (AU$1.53 billion) after raising US$104 million (AU$159 million) this week in a round led by Interactive Brokers with participation from Morgan Stanley and SoFi, as reported by CNBC.
Related: US and UK Launch Transatlantic Task Force on Digital Assets
Crypto’s Growing Demand on Wall Street
More and more financial institutions, as well as investment banks, all of which were hesitant towards interacting with crypto in any shape or form, are now racing to meet client demand, particularly now that the regulatory climate in the US is more crypto-friendly.
A lot of brokers are moving fast when it comes to crypto integration. Notably, E*Trade’s rival, Robinhood, already offers token trading and recently acquired Bitstamp in a US$200 million (AU$306 million) deal, as Crypto News Australia reported.
Bitcoin is currently trading at US$112,038 (AU$169,909), practically no change in the last 24 hours, as well as in the last 30 days. Most of the market seems flat, with major crypto assets seeing little to no action on the weekly chart.
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