After making a success with its spot Bitcoin ETF, Morgan Stanley is continuing to expand its digital assets business. The Wall Street heavyweight is eyeing to introduce Bitcoin, crypto trading services on its E*Trade platform.
Morgan Stanley is now rolling out a crypto trading pilot with plans to expand it to all 8.6 million customers at E*Trade later this year. To compete in the market, Morgan Stanley has made its pricing model 50 basis points per transaction, per a Bloomberg report.
This fee is much lesser than Coinbase and Robinhood, among other platforms. Moreover, earlier, Charles Schwab also launched Bitcoin and Ethereum trading services under its new arm, “Schwab Crypto.”
It revealed charging a brokerage fee of 0.75% for every crypto transaction. Hence, Morgan Stanley stands out by offering an even lower fee.
The expansion comes on the heels of the bank’s launch of its Bitcoin ETF on the New York Stock Exchange in April under the ticker MBST. The fund launched with a 0.14% management fee and is among the “cheap” funds in the market.
According to Farside Investors data, Morgan Stanley’s MSBT ETF has had $92 million in total net inflows since its launch. It represents a positive early investment response as Bitcoin ETFs continue to gain traction with nearly $1 billion inflows this week.
Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas called the launch a “big deal” in light of the $7 trillion AUM that Morgan Stanley manages. At the time, he noted that the low-cost structure could make it more convenient for the bank’s advisors to invest in Bitcoin. It would also help draw in capital, he added.
The MSBT ETF launch was one-,of-its-kind as Morgan Stanley emerged as the first major bank to issue a Bitcoin ETF. Balchunas had earlier noted that aggressive fee competition may make the difference in grabbing market share.
Morgan Stanley currently offers the lowest rate for its Bitcoin ETF and has opted a similar strategy for its crypto trading service. However, VanEck’s HODL ETF maintains an edge as it offers a fee waiver.
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