More than two years after the first 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs began trading in the United States, a 12th, issued by one of the 10 largest Wall Street banks with $1.9 trillion in assets under management, could debut Wednesday.
The Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust could begin trading NYSE Arca under the ticker MSBT, Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said on X, a NYSE listing notice that indicates an April 8 launch.
The ETF holds actual bitcoin and tracks the CoinDesk Bitcoin Benchmark settlement rate as of 4 p.m. in New York. It does not use leverage, derivatives, or active trading to counter Bitcoin price fluctuations. BNY and Coinbase Custody will manage the storage of the bitcoins, and the fund is launching with approximately $1 million in initial (seed) capital and 50,000 shares ready to trade.
Like its peers, the fund offers investors exposure to cryptocurrency without having to own or safeguard it themselves.
What stands out is the cost: The trust charges an annual fee of 0.14%, which is lower than BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust at 0.25% and most of its competitors.
The imminent launch marks a significant milestone for the market, signaling the first time a major U.S. bank has offered a spot Bitcoin ETF to investors. This highlights the growing demand for exposure to alternative assets like Bitcoin.
Morgan Stanley is investing deeper into digital assets, having filed for Solana spot ETFs earlier this year and planning to roll out Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana trading on E*Trade in the first half of 2026 via a collaboration with Zero Hash.
Spot ETFs have become a go-to vehicle for institutions seeking exposure to cryptocurrency. Since the launch of the first 11 funds in January 2024, they have collectively attracted more than $56 billion in net inflows, according to data source SoSoValue.
Derivatives activity linked to these products has also increased, with the mechanics of options linked to iShares Bitcoin Trust widely seen as amplifying the decline in Bitcoin prices in early February.
These alternative investment vehicles have spurred the mainstream financialization of Bitcoin, helping to mitigate its volatility. Market dynamics have evolved, with BTC’s implied volatility increasingly reflecting Wall Street’s fear gauge, the VIX – rising during price declines and falling during rallies.
Morgan Stanley’s next ETF is likely to reinforce these trends.
