Morgan Stanley Expands Crypto Offerings with Ether and Solana ETPs
Morgan Stanley has expanded its crypto offerings beyond Bitcoin, launching exchange-traded products (ETPs) that track Ether and Solana. The new funds, Morgan Stanley Ethereum Trust (MSSE) and Morgan Stanley Solana Trust (MSOL), use the CoinDesk Ether Benchmark 4PM NY Settlement Rate and CoinDesk Solana Benchmark 4PM NY Settlement Rate to track the performance of these cryptocurrencies.
Both ETPs come with a 0.14% expense ratio and will stake a portion of their holdings, passing staking rewards through to investors. Morgan Stanley has stated that it will not retain any portion of the staking rewards earned by either fund.
The launch follows Morgan Stanley's earlier rollout of spot cryptocurrency trading on its E*TRADE platform, which allows eligible clients to buy, sell and hold Bitcoin, Ether, and Solana through a partnership with crypto infrastructure provider Zero Hash. In April, Morgan Stanley launched the Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust (MSBT), becoming the first major US commercial bank to offer a spot Bitcoin ETF.
The MSBT fund had more than $381 million in assets under management as of July 16. This new expansion into Ether and Solana ETPs is part of Morgan Stanley's growing presence in the crypto space, with its investment management arm committed to providing access to these emerging markets for clients.