More than two years after the first 11 spot bitcoin ETFs began trading in the United States, a 12th, issued by a top-10 Wall Street bank 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 announcement pointing to an April 8 launch.
The ETF holds actual bitcoin and tracks the CoinDesk Bitcoin Benchmark 4 PM NY settlement rate. It does not use leverage, derivatives or active trading to beat bitcoin’s price fluctuations. BNY and Coinbase Custody will handle bitcoin storage, and the fund will launch with about $1 million in initial capital (seed) and 50,000 shares ready for trading.
Like its peers, the fund gives investors exposure to the cryptocurrency without having to own or protect it themselves.
Where it stands out is on cost: the trust charges an annual fee of 0.14%, undercutting BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust at 0.25% and most rivals.
The impending launch marks a milestone for the market and signals the first time a major US bank has brought a spot bitcoin ETF to investors. It underscores the growing demand for exposure to alternative assets like bitcoin.
Morgan Stanley is pushing deeper into digital assets, having filed earlier this year for spot Solana ETFs and plans to roll out bitcoin, ethereum and solana trading on E*Trade in the first half of 2026 via a partnership with Zero Hash.
Spot ETFs have become a go-to vehicle for institutions seeking exposure to the cryptocurrency. Since the first 11 funds debuted in January 2024, they have collectively drawn more than $56 billion in net inflows, according to data source SoSoValue.
Activity in derivatives linked to these products has also increased, with the mechanics of options linked to the iShares Bitcoin Trust widely seen as amplifying bitcoin’s price decline in early February.
These alternative investment vehicles have driven the mainstream financialization of Bitcoin and helped dampen its volatility. Market dynamics have evolved, with BTC’s implied volatility increasingly mirroring Wall Street’s fear gauge, the VIX – rising during price declines and falling during rallies.
Morgan Stanley’s upcoming ETF is likely to reinforce these trends.
