Morgan Stanley to Offer E-Trade Clients Crypto Trading as It Backs Zerohash’s $104M Funding Round

Morgan Stanley is taking a major step into digital assets, announcing plans to let E-Trade clients trade cryptocurrencies while backing crypto infrastructure startup Zerohash in a $104 million funding round.

The Wall Street bank participated in Zerohash’s Series D-2 raise, which was led by Interactive Brokers and joined by SoFi, Apollo-managed funds, and Jump Crypto, among others. The investment pushed Zerohash’s valuation to $1 billion, officially making it a unicorn, according to a company statement.

Interactive Brokers leads zerohash capital raise, as Morgan Stanley, Apollo and SoFi also make significant Onchain-Infrastructure Investment - zerohash Reaches Unicorn Status and is now valued at $1 Billion

Fundraise marks one of the largest crypto and stablecoin private capital raises in 2025, helping define the future of finance…

Zero Hash Holdings Ltd.Zero Hash Holdings Ltd.

Zerohash, which provides blockchain infrastructure for fiat, stablecoins, and digital assets through APIs, will also support Morgan Stanley in rolling out crypto trading for E-Trade customers. Initially, users will be able to buy and sell Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana, with the launch expected in the coming months.

Expanding Beyond ETFs

Until now, Morgan Stanley’s exposure to digital assets has been limited to investments in Bitcoin and spot Bitcoin ETFs, along with select ventures such as its co-lead role in Securitize’s $48 million Series B raise in 2021. The move to allow direct crypto trading for retail clients marks the firm’s most significant embrace of digital assets to date.

Jed Finn, Morgan Stanley’s head of wealth management, told Bloomberg the expansion is only the beginning.

Morgan Stanley close to offering crypto trading through E-Trade, calls it ‘tip of the iceberg’

Morgan Stanley, which relies more on wealth management than its peers, is poised to be an early adopter in crypto trading, custody and tokenized assets.

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“The underlying technology has been proven, and blockchain-based infrastructure is obviously here to stay. Clients should have access to digitized assets, traditional assets, and cryptocurrencies, all in the same ecosystem they’re used to,” he said.

The firm’s move mirrors growing competition with platforms like Robinhood, which already offers crypto trading, and signals a shift among traditional financial institutions toward integrating digital assets into mainstream wealth management.

Crypto’s Broader Momentum

Zerohash CFO Adam Berg highlighted that demand for digital asset services is now widespread across traditional banking.

“Every financial institution is looking to provide access to the crypto asset class and innovate with this technology at scale,” Berg said in the funding announcement. “I’ve recently met with multiple large bank CEOs and financial services executives, many of whom said that they are spending more than 50% of their time driving on-chain innovation at their firms.”

The push comes amid a more favorable regulatory climate under the Trump administration, which has rolled back hurdles that previously slowed crypto adoption. As a result, institutional investment in blockchain and digital assets has been gaining speed, with Morgan Stanley’s latest move underscoring how deeply Wall Street is preparing for a crypto-integrated future.