CryptoSlate
Morgan Stanley filed amended registration statements on June 18 for proposed Ethereum and Solana ETF trusts, setting a 0.14% annual delegated sponsor fee on both — a level Bloomberg's Eric Balchunas called the lowest among ETH and SOL products worldwide. The ETH trust, expected to list on NYSE Arca as MSSE, intends to track ether plus staking rewards from 50% to 80% of holdings; the SOL trust (MSOL) would allow up to 100% of holdings to be staked. Neither filing has been declared effective by the SEC, and staking treatment, custody, and tax handling could still trigger further amendments before either product trades.
For comparison: BlackRock's ETHA carries a 0.25% sponsor fee, Grayscale's mini Ether sits at 0.15%, Bitwise's BSOL launched at 0.20%, and Franklin Templeton's SOEZ lists a 0.19% net expense ratio. Morgan Stanley's 14 bps is at least a basis point below every major US competitor — a thin headline gap that compounds dramatically when paired with staking pass-through economics that competitors don't match.
Why it matters
The fee is a statement about where Morgan Stanley expects the institutional allocation conversation to go. Bitcoin ETFs resolved the access problem — BlackRock's IBIT crossed $70 billion in AUM within 18 months of launch — and the next question for wealth managers is whether ETH and SOL, packaged cheaply and reliably enough, can occupy a second line in a digital asset sleeve alongside Bitcoin. Morgan Stanley Investment Management ran approximately $1.8 trillion in assets under management or supervision as of September 30, 2025, across operations in 42 countries. That distribution reach turns a 14 bps fee into a bid for advisor shelf space: when a wealth manager at a Morgan Stanley branch evaluates non-Bitcoin crypto exposure, MSSE and MSOL are already priced to win the comparison before the conversation reaches competitor products.
The staking economics sharpen that advantage.
Frequently asked questions
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What fee did Morgan Stanley file for its proposed ETH and SOL ETFs?
Morgan Stanley filed amended registration statements on June 18 setting a 0.14% annual delegated sponsor fee on both the proposed ETH trust (MSSE) and SOL trust (MSOL). Bloomberg's Eric Balchunas called it the lowest among ETH and SOL products worldwide.
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How does Morgan Stanley's fee compare to existing US ETH and SOL ETFs?
Morgan Stanley's 0.14% undercuts every major US competitor by at least one basis point: BlackRock's ETHA is 0.25%, Grayscale's mini Ether is 0.15%, Bitwise's BSOL is 0.20%, and Franklin Templeton's SOEZ is 0.19%.
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What staking structure do the proposed MSSE and MSOL trusts include?
The ETH trust intends to stake 50% to 80% of holdings; the SOL trust allows up to 100% of holdings to be staked. Both retain 95% of staking rewards, with the delegated sponsor explicitly receiving no portion. A fully staked SOL product at a 6.28% gross rate would net roughly 5.83% after the 14 bps fee.
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Have Morgan Stanley's ETH and SOL ETFs been approved by the SEC?
No. The filings are preliminary registration statements and the SEC has not declared either effective. Staking treatment, custody arrangements, and tax handling could require further amendments before shares trade.
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What distribution advantage does Morgan Stanley have over existing crypto ETF issuers?
Morgan Stanley Investment Management reported approximately $1.8 trillion in assets under management or supervision as of September 30, 2025, across 42 countries. That reach positions MSSE and MSOL to win advisor shelf space in branches evaluating non-Bitcoin crypto exposure.
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