Morgan Stanley is set to launch its Bitcoin exchange-traded fund on the NYSE Arca stock exchange this Wednesday.
Summary
- Morgan Stanley is set to launch its Bitcoin ETF on NYSE Arca under the ticker MSBT, becoming the first major U.S. bank to enter the spot Bitcoin ETF market.
- The product enters a competitive space dominated by IBIT and FBTC, which have drawn over $74.3 billion in inflows, while Morgan Stanley sets a lower fee of 0.14%.
A listing notice issued by the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday confirms that the Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust will start trading under the ticker MSBT on April 8.
It will make Morgan Stanley the first major commercial bank to offer a Bitcoin ETF in the U.S. It is also the first spot Bitcoin ETF product to enter the market in nearly two years since Grayscale introduced the Bitcoin Mini Trust ETF in July 2024.
As MSBT is entering a tightly contested market with issuers like BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF IBIT and Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund FBTC that have accumulated over $74.3 billion in net inflows since launch.
Morgan Stanley is stepping in with competitive pricing, with its fees set at 0.14%, a move that could push rivals to cut costs. While it remains to be seen how the product performs against the current leaders, analysts agree that the entry marks a significant moment for the crypto space.
“This bank happens to have 16k advisors managing $6T in assets. They are the ultimate gatekeepers of rich boomer money,” Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas said in a recent X post.
As previously reported by crypto.news, Morgan Stanley has finalized Coinbase Custody and BNY Mellon as custodians for the product.
It looks like the bank is going all in on digital assets as it has also applied for a staked Ether ETF and a Solana ETF. The bank has also confirmed plans to let its clients trade tokenized versions of U.S. stocks and ETFs on its internal ATS.
Back in February, the bank applied for a national trust banking charter that would allow it to custody crypto, execute trades, and offer staking services.
