It finally happened.

Morgan Stanley (the buttoned-up, cufflink-wearing gatekeeper of $8.2 trillion in client assets) just told every one of its financial advisors, “Sure, go ahead and sell crypto to everyone.”

As of October 15, every Morgan Stanley client (from Wall Street whales to that guy in your HOA who thinks XRP is the future of banking) can now own crypto funds. And yes, that includes retirement accounts.

Until now, you needed at least $1.5 million in assets and a risk tolerance somewhere between “send it” and “no fear of God” to get a slice of crypto through Morgan Stanley. Now? Advisors can pitch Bitcoin and Ethereum funds from BlackRock and Fidelity to anyone with a pulse.

The firm will rely on automated monitoring to make sure Grandma doesn’t dump her entire nest egg into Solana after watching one too many TikToks about staking yields. But still…. that’s a massive shift from “no way” to “just a little won’t hurt.”

This comes after a total 180° in Washington. Since President Trump got back in office, regulators have gone from treating crypto like a four-letter word and like the future of fintech (because it kind of is).

(Source: CNBC)

Morgan Stanley’s move follows a steady rollout of crypto-friendly changes. In September, it teamed up with Zerohash to bring Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana trading to its E*Trade platform. Earlier this year, CEO Ted Pick said the bank wanted to offer crypto “safely”... institutional speak for “we’re definitely going to, we just need legal cover.” Well, now the cover’s here.

Despite the open bar, Morgan Stanley’s global investment committee still recommends clients cap their crypto exposure at 4% of total assets. Or in plain English: “You can dance with Bitcoin… just don’t marry it.”

This isn’t a Morgan Stanley story on its own. It’s a Wall Street capitulation story. After years of laughing off crypto bros as “morons” and “grifters,” the biggest wealth manager in the world is handing out digital drink tickets. That means Coinbase, Robinhood, and every fintech that thought they had a monopoly on “crypto access” just got some new competition… wearing tailored suits.

First, it’s “too risky.” Then, it’s “fine for the yacht crowd.” And now? It’s officially something your HR department might auto-enroll you in. Regardless if you feel like this is a sign the top is near, Morgan Stanley just baptized crypto in holy retirement water.

At the time of publishing this article, Stocks.News holds positions in Ethereum and Robinhood as mentioned in the article.