In a bold move within the financial sector, Morgan Stanley has launched crypto trading on ETrade at a competitive fee of 50 basis points per transaction. This strategic pricing effectively undercuts rivals like Coinbase, Robinhood, and Charles Schwab. The initiative is currently in its pilot phase for select users but will soon expand to all 8.6 million ETrade clients. Morgan Stanley’s initial offerings include Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana—assets that align with their existing ETF filings. Their infrastructure relies on Zerohash, a partner acquired discreetly last September.
Morgan Stanley’s competitive edge is emphasized by Eric Balchunas of Bloomberg, who noted the potential for fee compression to continue until crypto trading becomes ‘pretty dirt cheap’ across platforms. Jed Finn from Morgan Stanley articulated their approach as “disintermediating the disintermediators,” signaling a direct challenge to Coinbase rather than merely complementing it.
Meanwhile, Grant Cardone made headlines at Consensus Miami by revealing an additional $100 million investment in Bitcoin for a large real estate transaction in Boca Raton. This brings his total Bitcoin exposure to approximately $200 million, structured within the same LLC as his property holdings. Cardone emphasized the advantage of such a hybrid model over REITs, which are restricted from holding Bitcoin on their balance sheets due to dividend distribution requirements.
Cardone anticipates returns between 22 and 32 percent from this strategy, highlighting the resilience provided by real estate cash flow during market downturns. He aims to accumulate 10,000 BTC through rental income by 2026, with plans for a public offering of his Bitcoin-real estate venture.
On another front, White House crypto advisor Patrick Witt outlined an ambitious timeline for the Clarity Act’s enactment by July 4th. This includes Senate and House votes scheduled over the next few months. Despite some dissatisfaction from both crypto firms and banks with certain provisions, a stablecoin yield compromise has been reached. The ethics provision remains contentious but is framed as applying universally to avoid targeting specific political figures.
In tech news, Elon Musk’s SpaceX has entered into an agreement with Anthropic to provide over 300 megawatts of computing power from its Memphis data center, offering significant capacity that will immediately enhance services for Claude Pro and Claude Max users. This partnership comes despite Musk’s previous criticisms of Anthropic. The collaboration aims to expand AI compute capabilities, including potential orbital data centers powered by SpaceX technology.