Morgan Stanley Files for Spot Bitcoin and Solana ETFs; First Major U.S. Bank to Enter Issuance Race
Morgan Stanley becomes the first major U.S. bank to file for its own spot Bitcoin and Solana ETFs, pivoting from distributor to issuer to capture fee revenue.
Wall Street’s distribution phase is over. The issuance phase has begun.
Morgan Stanley filed S-1 registration statements with the SEC on Jan. 6 for the Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust and the Morgan Stanley Solana Trust. The move makes the wealth management giant the first major U.S. bank to attempt to list its own branded spot crypto ETFs, signaling a pivot from merely selling third-party crypto products to capturing the economics of issuance.
The filings, which list Morgan Stanley Investment Management as the sponsor, propose passive investment vehicles that track the price of Bitcoin and Solana directly. While tickers were not disclosed, the intent is clear: the bank is no longer content to let BlackRock and Fidelity monopolize the fee revenue from its own client base.
The Economic Incentive
The logic is purely arithmetic. In November, BlackRock executives revealed that their spot Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) had become the firm’s top revenue source, outpacing legacy products with decades of history. With IBIT holding over $70 billion in assets, the fees generated are substantial.
Morgan Stanley, which manages over $5 trillion in client assets, has distributed these products to its wealthy clients since approving them for solicitation in 2024. Now, it wants those assets in-house. By launching proprietary products, the bank can internalize the management fees currently leaking to competitors.
Can honestly say that I am very surprised by these. Didn’t see this coming,
wrote Bloomberg Intelligence analyst James Seyffart, noting that Morgan Stanley rarely lends its brand name to ETFs, with only two other such funds in existence.
Market Data & Reaction
Markets absorbed the news with surprising calm, suggesting the “news” had been front-run or traders are waiting for 19b-4 approval filings. Bitcoin hovered around $92,700 (-1%), consolidating after its run toward $100,000. Solana traded near $139 (-1%), failing to ignite an immediate breakout despite the institutional vote of confidence.
The Regulatory Pivot
The timing is not coincidental. The filings arrive just weeks before the Trump administration takes office, amid widespread expectation of a relaxed regulatory regime. The SEC’s willingness to engage with a major banking entity on crypto issuance. Historically a friction point due to custody rules (SAB 121), this suggests the agency’s posture is already shifting.
Unlike asset managers, banks face stricter capital requirements for holding crypto on their balance sheets. Morgan Stanley’s filing indicates either a workaround for custody (likely using a third-party sub-custodian) or a bet that banking regulators will soften capital constraints in 2026.
