NEW YORK, January 7, 2026, 12:39 (EST)
- Morgan Stanley’s asset manager filed to launch bitcoin and solana exchange-traded products, pending SEC approval
- Filings show the Solana vehicle would also seek to reflect staking rewards
- Bitcoin traded around $91,531 and solana near $136 in midday New York trade
Morgan Stanley Investment Management has filed initial registration statements for two crypto-linked exchange-traded products — the Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust and the Morgan Stanley Solana Trust — and said the securities cannot be sold until the filings become effective.
The move would be the first attempt by a major U.S. bank to bring in-house crypto ETFs to market at a time when Washington’s stance has turned more permissive and traditional finance firms are looking for cleaner ways to package exposure. “It’s interesting to see Morgan Stanley move into a commoditized market,” said Bryan Armour, an ETF analyst at Morningstar, adding he suspects the bank wants to steer existing clients into its own funds. Reuters
An exchange-traded fund, or ETF, trades like a stock and lets investors buy exposure without holding the asset directly. Bitcoin was down about 1.1% at $91,531, while solana slipped to about $136; ether fell to roughly $3,163.
The bitcoin filing describes a passive vehicle designed to track the price of bitcoin and says it will not use leverage or derivatives. The solana trust sets a similar goal for SOL, but also says it would seek to reflect rewards from “staking” — locking tokens to help run a blockchain network in exchange for payouts — and would distribute staking rewards at least quarterly in certain circumstances. SEC+1
Morgan Stanley is arriving late to a crowded field: more than 100 crypto ETFs already trade in the United States, and BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust has grown into one of the largest, with about $73 billion in assets, Barron’s reported. T. Rowe Price filed for its first crypto ETF last year, according to an earlier Reuters report.
Some market watchers see the filing as less about a new bet on tokens and more about keeping fee income in-house. Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas called the move a “shocker” in a LinkedIn post and argued Morgan Stanley would rather “collect fees” than route client flows to rivals’ funds. LinkedIn
The filing lands as crypto-linked public companies are still fighting for a place in mainstream benchmarks. MSCI this week shelved a plan that could have pushed “digital asset treasury companies” — firms that hold crypto as a large share of assets, such as Strategy — out of its indexes; “it removes a material near-term technical risk,” Clear Street analyst Owen Lau said. Reuters
There are risks. The SEC can still slow, reshape or reject the products, and crypto’s price swings can turn a simple “track the token” promise into a rough ride for retail holders. Staking, in particular, sits at the intersection of custody, tax treatment and regulation — areas that change faster than fund prospectuses.
