Morgan Stanley Files for In-House Bitcoin and Solana ETFs

From Distributor to Issuer

Morgan Stanley just signaled it's done paying management fees to competitors. The firm filed S-1 registration statements with the SEC on January 6 for both a spot Bitcoin ETF and a spot Solana ETF—products that would be built and managed entirely in-house rather than distributed from third-party issuers.

This isn't a tentative exploration. It's vertical integration. Morgan Stanley operates one of the largest wealth management platforms in the world, with thousands of advisors who gained unrestricted crypto access in October 2025. By launching proprietary ETFs, the firm captures management fees internally rather than routing client assets to BlackRock, Fidelity, or Grayscale.

The Economics Are Obvious

BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) became the firm's top revenue source in 2025, generating an estimated $245 million in annual fees at its October peak of approximately $100 billion in assets. The product launched in January 2024 and reached $70 billion faster than any ETF in history.

For a firm like Morgan Stanley, which manages $6.4 trillion in total assets and operates a massive wealth advisory network, the math is straightforward. Even modest allocation recommendations across its client base could generate hundreds of millions in fee revenue annually. Why share that with competitors?

Product Structure

The Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust will hold bitcoin directly, calculating net asset value daily using a pricing benchmark derived from major spot exchanges. The fund is passive—no active trading based on market conditions. Shares will be created and redeemed in large blocks by authorized participants, with retail investors accessing shares through standard brokerage accounts.

The Solana Trust follows a similar structure but includes a staking component, with rewards accruing to the fund and reflected in net asset value. This differentiates the product from existing Solana ETFs and could attract investors seeking yield alongside price exposure.

Neither filing disclosed ticker symbols, listing exchanges, or custody arrangements.

Market Context

Morgan Stanley enters a crowded but rapidly expanding market. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs now hold $123 billion in total net assets, representing 6.57% of bitcoin's total market capitalization. Net inflows have exceeded $1.1 billion since the start of 2026. Cumulative trading volume across all U.S. spot crypto ETFs has surpassed $2 trillion.

Spot Solana ETFs, launched in October 2025, have accumulated over $1 billion in total net assets with approximately $800 million in cumulative net inflows—strong early traction for a newer product category.

The competitive field includes BlackRock, Fidelity, Grayscale, Bitwise, VanEck, and others. Morgan Stanley would become one of the first major Wall Street banks to issue its own spot crypto ETFs rather than simply distributing third-party products.

The Distribution Advantage

Unlike pure asset managers, Morgan Stanley controls both manufacturing and distribution. The firm's wealth management arm includes over 16,000 advisors managing approximately $2 trillion in client assets. In October 2025, Morgan Stanley removed restrictions on wealth advisors recommending crypto allocations, with guidance suggesting 2-4% exposure for appropriate client profiles.

E*Trade, Morgan Stanley's retail brokerage platform, is expected to launch crypto trading in early 2026, potentially unlocking access to $1.3 trillion in additional trading volume.

Proprietary ETFs allow Morgan Stanley to embed crypto exposure directly into model portfolios, managed accounts, and advisory recommendations—keeping the fee economics in-house while maintaining compliance with internal risk frameworks.

Strategic Implications

The filing represents a strategic shift from distribution to manufacturing. Morgan Stanley has spent the past two years building crypto infrastructure: expanding custody relationships, developing advisor training programs, and gradually removing platform restrictions. Proprietary ETFs are the logical next step.

For competitors, Morgan Stanley's entry adds another heavyweight to an already competitive market. Fee compression is likely as more issuers compete for assets. BlackRock's IBIT charges 0.25% annually; new entrants typically undercut to attract flows.

For clients, the shift means more options and potentially lower costs. Morgan Stanley's distribution reach could also bring crypto ETF exposure to investors who might not have sought it independently, particularly in managed account structures where advisors make allocation decisions.

The filing requires SEC review and approval before trading can begin. Given the existing regulatory framework for spot Bitcoin ETFs—established when the first wave of products launched in January 2024—approval timelines should be relatively predictable.

What's notable isn't that Morgan Stanley filed for crypto ETFs. It's that the firm waited this long. The economics have been obvious since BlackRock's IBIT became its top revenue generator. Morgan Stanley is now positioning to capture those economics for itself.