Trading Bitcoin at Merrill Edge
Key takeaways:
• Merrill Edge does not provide direct Bitcoin or other crypto trading.
• Merrill Edge offers Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs.
• Merrill clients seeking direct trading might want to use Robinhood instead.
Are you looking to invest in digital currencies? If so, you need a suitable brokerage. Merrill Edge does some things well and not so well. Here are the details:
Cryptocurrencies at Merrill Edge
Merrill Edge does not permit direct crypto trades. That’s the first letdown we find with Merrill. It does, however, allow trading in exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and some of these hold crypto assets. This approach offers a roundabout way to invest in digital currencies.
Finding Crypto ETFs at Merrill Edge
It’s very simple to track down funds at Merrill Edge that hold Bitcoin and Ethereum. Click on Research in the main menu and choose ETFs under Investments & Screeners.
On the ETFs page, notice the second row of tabs below the main row; you’ll see one for the ETF Screener. Click on it.
With the screener open, select Digital Assets as the Morningstar category. When we did this, we got 74 results. Some focus on futures contracts tied to Bitcoin or Ethereum, while others hold Bitcoin or Ethereum itself. Certain ETFs are leveraged. Be sure to review a fund’s prospectus carefully before investing.
Researching Crypto ETFs at Merrill Edge
To see details on a particular fund, look for the down arrow next to its ticker symbol on the results page. A small menu with five choices will appear:
- Add to watchlist
- Compare tool
- Set alert
- View prospectus
- Trade
To view the fund’s profile, click on the hyperlinked ticker. You’ll then see a short summary with data like the 52-week range, gross expense ratio, and the latest volume. There is a link for more research; use that button to open the full profile. The expanded profile has extra information, including option chains and technical research from Technical Insight©.
One fund we spotted in Merrill’s screener was BITB. This is the Bitwise Bitcoin Trust. It holds $4.27 billion in assets, which are all in Bitcoin. Because it holds just one asset, it is not diversified.
On Merrill’s profile for BITB, the beta is listed as 1.73, suggesting high volatility. With an average volume of more than 2 million shares daily, this Bitwise fund is widely traded. It does not pay a dividend, which makes sense.
How to Buy Bitcoin ETF of Merrill Edge
Buying a Bitcoin ETF at Merrill Edge is no different from placing any other ETF or stock order. You can do it through Merrill’s website, the browser-based MarketPro, or the mobile app.
On the website, you may use the trade link shown in the drop-down window in your list of search results. There is also a blue trade button on each ETF’s profile. Within MarketPro, you can right-click on a watchlist entry to launch a trade.
All three Merrill Edge platforms share the same order ticket. Market, stop, limit, and trailing orders are accepted, and you can short sell, too.
Fees and Minimums
Merrill Edge does not charge commissions on crypto ETFs (or any other ETFs). There is no minimum deposit for a regular brokerage account, though an IRA, which can also hold Bitcoin ETFs, does come with a $49.95 closing fee.
Robinhood as an Alternative
The Bitwise Bitcoin ETF mentioned earlier has a 0.20% expense ratio, taken from the fund every year. If this ongoing cost is too high for you, you could skip the fund route and purchase cryptocurrencies outright. This isn’t an option at Merrill Edge, but it is at Robinhood.
Robinhood enables direct crypto trading in 28 different tokens. Beyond major coins like Bitcoin and Ethereum, there are some lesser-known ones:
- Aave (AAVE)
- Avalanche (AVAX)
- Bitcoin (BTC)
- Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
- BONK (BONK)
- Cardano (ADA)
- Chainlink (LINK)
- Compound (COMP)
- Dogecoin (DOGE)
- Dogwifhat (WIF)
- Ethereum (ETH)
- Ethereum Classic (ETC)
- Litecoin (LTC)
- Pepe (PEPE)
- Shiba Inu (SHIB)
- Solana (SOL)
- Steller Lumens (XLM)
- Tezos (XTZ)
- Trump (TRUMP)
- Uniswap (UNI)
- USDC (USDC)
- XRP (XRP)
To see which tokens are available at Robinhood, type “Tradable Crypto” into the search bar on the site or app. You’ll get the list of assets; just click or tap on one to see its profile. To place a trade, use the Trade button at the bottom of the app, or on the website, open the trade ticket. Crypto order types include market, limit, and recurring.
Robinhood does not charge commissions for crypto trades, but there is about a 0.65% spread. Of that, 0.60% goes to Robinhood, with the rest going to the market maker. A complete buy-and-sell round trip costs around 1.30%. Remember that ETFs also have spreads, which add to their trading costs.
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Merrill Lynch Crypto Summary
Merrill Edge provides indirect exposure to crypto through ETFs, while Robinhood delivers both indirect and direct options.
Updated on 10/11/2025.
Chad Morris is a financial writer with more than 20 years experience
as both an English teacher and an avid trader. When he isn’t writing
expert content for Brokerage-Review.com, Chad can usually be found
managing his portfolio or building a new home computer.
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