Morgan Stanley Enters Staking with Ethereum and Solana ETPs

Morgan Stanley Investment Management has launched two new exchange-traded products (ETPs), the Morgan Stanley Ethereum Trust and the Morgan Stanley Solana Trust. These ETPs track the price of ether and SOL, respectively. The addition follows the launch of the Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust earlier this year.

The Morgan Stanley Ethereum Trust and the Morgan Stanley Solana Trust have expense ratios of 0.14%. A notable feature of these products is that they intend to stake a portion of their holdings to earn staking rewards. Morgan Stanley has stated that it will not retain any part of the rewards for itself.

This move is significant because it marks the introduction of staking into ETPs by a major Wall Street bank-affiliated asset manager. Staking can potentially lift returns, but it also comes with risks such as illiquid lockup periods and 'slashing' penalties if validators misbehave.