Morgan Stanley's Bitcoin ETF set to launch on Wednesday

Morgan Stanley’s Bitcoin exchange-traded fund is set to debut on the NYSE Arca stock exchange on Wednesday, making it the first major commercial bank to offer a Bitcoin ETF in the US.

The launch of the Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust (MSBT) on April 8 was confirmed in a listing notice by the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday.

It would make MSBT the first spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETF product to enter the market in nearly two years, since crypto asset manager Grayscale introduced its Bitcoin Mini Trust ETF in July 2024. 

MSBT is entering a competitive market led by BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) and the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC), which have tallied a combined $74.3 billion in net inflows since launching in January 2024, according to Farside Investors data.

While Morgan Stanley will be playing catch-up, the bank set the fee for MSBT at a market-low 0.14%, potentially pressuring rivals to cut costs to stay competitive.

“This bank happens to have 16k advisors managing $6T in assets. They are the ultimate gatekeepers of rich boomer money,” said Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas.

Morgan Stanley previously selected Coinbase and Bank of New York Mellon as the proposed custodians for its Bitcoin ETF.

Morgan Stanley has more crypto offerings in the pipeline

MSBT’s launch will add to Morgan Stanley’s aggressive push into the crypto market this year. The bank also applied for a national trust banking charter in February that would enable it to custody crypto, execute sales and swaps for clients, and offer staking services.

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The Wall Street bank also filed to list a staked Ether (ETH) ETF and Solana (SOL) ETF in the first week of January. Later that month, it appointed one of the company’s longest-standing executives, Amy Oldenburg, to lead its digital asset team.

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