CoinDesk
Morgan Stanley is bringing exchange-traded products tracking ether (ETH) and solana (SOL) to NYSE Arca, expanding the firm's digital asset lineup beyond its spot bitcoin fund. The Morgan Stanley Ethereum Trust (MSSE) and Morgan Stanley Solana Trust (MSOL) will track the CoinDesk Ether Benchmark 4PM NY Settlement Rate and CoinDesk Solana Benchmark 4PM NY Settlement Rate, respectively, and will charge a 0.14% expense ratio, the lowest of any comparable product on the market. A portion of each fund's underlying holdings will be staked, with rewards passed through to investors rather than retained by the issuer.
The launches arrive on the back of the Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust (MSBT), which debuted earlier this year and crossed $381 million in assets under management by July 16. Amy Oldenburg, head of digital asset strategy at the firm, framed the move as a portfolio-construction story: digital assets are now an increasingly important component of diversified mandates, and Morgan Stanley wants to offer diversified exposure across traditional and decentralized assets inside its existing governance and risk framework.
Why it matters
The fee and the staking pass-through are the substantively new beats. A 0.14% expense ratio resets the price floor for institutional-grade ETH and SOL exposure, and staking rewards flowing directly to holders close the gap with direct token ownership that earlier wrapped products left on the table. SOL ETP competition is already live, with eight listed funds on SoSoValue holding a combined $889.3 million in net assets, but most of those issuers do not have a wealth-management network that can move assets at scale.
Morgan Stanley's wealth business runs roughly 16,000 financial advisors overseeing more than $9 trillion in client assets, and E*TRADE adds a direct pipeline to millions of self-directed investors. That distribution layer is the structural moat: a competitive fee plus a built-in advisor channel is the combination newer crypto-native issuers have struggled to replicate, and it is the cross-section that pulled MSBT past $381 million in a few months.
Frequently asked questions
-
What did Morgan Stanley actually launch?
Morgan Stanley filed exchange-traded products tracking ether and solana for listing on NYSE Arca: the Morgan Stanley Ethereum Trust (MSSE) and Morgan Stanley Solana Trust (MSOL). Both track CoinDesk 4PM NY benchmark rates and charge a 0.14% expense ratio.
-
How does the 0.14% fee compare to existing ETH and SOL ETPs?
The 0.14% expense ratio is the lowest of any comparable product on the market, undercutting existing ether and solana wrappers and resetting the price floor for institutional-grade exposure to both assets.
-
Will the ETH and SOL ETPs pass staking rewards to investors?
Yes. A portion of each fund's underlying ETH or SOL holdings will be staked, and the rewards will be passed through to investors rather than retained by Morgan Stanley, closing a gap with direct token ownership.
-
How does Morgan Stanley's distribution compare to other crypto ETP issuers?
The firm's wealth management arm runs roughly 16,000 financial advisors overseeing more than $9 trillion in client assets, and its ownership of E*TRADE adds a direct pipeline to millions of self-directed investors. Most crypto-native issuers lack that advisor channel.
-
What does this launch say about the broader institutional crypto trend?
It is the clearest signal yet that the post-spot-bitcoin-ETF institutional wave is widening into altcoin majors. Combined with BlackRock's recent crypto income ETF debut, it shows the largest traditional issuers are now building diversified, yield-aware products across ETH and SOL.
TheBlock
Crypto News
Glassnode
CoinTelegraph
WuBlockchain