New York, Jan 6, 2026, 06:46 EST — Premarket
- Morgan Stanley filed for ETFs linked to bitcoin and solana, expanding a push by big financial firms into crypto funds.
- U.S.-listed spot bitcoin ETFs took in a net $697.2 million on Jan. 5, led by BlackRock’s IBIT and Fidelity’s FBTC, Farside Investors data showed.
- Major crypto-linked ETFs rose in premarket trade as bitcoin held near $94,000.
Morgan Stanley filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday to launch exchange-traded funds tied to the prices of bitcoin and solana, according to the filings.
The timing matters because investors have been using crypto ETFs as the main on-ramp to digital assets, with daily fund flows offering a fast read on demand. Fresh inflows early in the year can amplify moves in the underlying tokens and tighten competition on fees and liquidity among providers.
Flows also sit at the intersection of macro and crypto. Traders are watching whether risk appetite holds ahead of a heavy U.S. data week, culminating in the January 9 jobs report that investors see as important for the Federal Reserve’s rate path.
In premarket trade, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) was up about 4.9%, while Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) rose about 5.0% and Grayscale’s GBTC gained about 4.9%. Bitcoin was up about 0.9% at $93,771, after trading as high as $94,683.
Morgan Stanley shares were up about 2.6% in early trade. Coinbase rose about 7.8%, while Strategy gained about 4.8%, as crypto-linked stocks tracked the broader move in digital assets.
On the flow side, U.S.-listed spot bitcoin ETFs drew $697.2 million of net inflows on Jan. 5, led by $372.5 million into IBIT and $191.2 million into FBTC, according to Farside Investors. Ether ETFs took in $168.0 million, led by $102.9 million into BlackRock’s ETHA, while Solana ETFs tracked by Farside drew $16.8 million.
Pratik Kala, head of research at Apollo Crypto, said “start of year portfolio rebalancing is likely a factor” behind the renewed buying. Sean Dawson, head of research at Derive, pointed to geopolitics, saying the U.S. capture of Venezuela’s leader “signals a key tick up in volatility.” Decrypt+1
Crypto ETFs that track “spot” prices are designed to give investors exposure through a stock-like wrapper; in plain terms, they aim to mirror the token’s day-to-day moves without requiring investors to hold the cryptocurrency directly. Morgan Stanley’s move comes two years after the SEC approved spot bitcoin ETFs, Reuters reported. Reuters
But the same plumbing that makes crypto easy to buy in an ETF also makes it easy to sell, and flows can flip quickly if macro data shocks markets or volatility spikes. Dean Chen, an analyst at Bitunix, said Venezuela developments were “not a direct bullish catalyst” for bitcoin even if they sharpen the case for decentralized assets during stress. Investopedia
Investors’ next test is Friday’s January 9 U.S. jobs report, alongside daily ETF flow prints for signs that the bid is sticking. They will also watch for any further SEC feedback as Morgan Stanley’s filings enter the regulatory review process.
