In 2026, Morgan Stanley is eyeing expansion into the crypto space.
On Jan. 6, the bank filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to launch its Bitcoin (BTC) and Solana (SOL) exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
The products will be known as the Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust and the Morgan Stanley Solana Trust.
Related: Morgan Stanley is unleashing 15,000 wealth advisors to sell Bitcoin ETFs
An exchange-traded fund (ETF) is an investment vehicle that pools capital from multiple investors to track the performance of an underlying asset, index, or basket of assets.
Unlike mutual funds, ETFs trade on stock exchanges throughout the day, with prices fluctuating like individual stocks.
They can hold a range of assets, including stocks, bonds, commodities, or cryptocurrencies. Investors buy ETF shares to gain diversified exposure without directly owning the underlying assets.
A crypto ETF is a type of investment fund that lets investors gain exposure to cryptocurrency without directly buying or holding crypto themselves.
ETFs offer transparency, liquidity, and lower fees, making them a popular choice for both retail and institutional investors seeking efficient market access and portfolio diversification.
As per the filing, the Trusts will issue common shares of beneficial interest expected to be listed on a U.S. securities exchange.
This will provide exposure to the price movements of Bitcoin and Solana without requiring direct crypto custody by retail investors.
According to the prospectus, the Trusts operate as a passive investment vehicle that holds Bitcoin and Solana and values its shares based on a Pricing Benchmark, an aggregated index of executed trading activity across major BTC and SOL spot exchanges.
The structure is designed to closely track BTC and SOL price performance after accounting for expenses and liabilities.
However, the Trust and its sponsor are not regulated under the Investment Company Act of 1940.
This means traditional investor protections applied to mutual funds do not extend here.
The sponsor is also not a registered investment adviser under the Advisers Act. While Bitcoin custody is outsourced to regulated custodians with insurance coverage, the insurance does not cover value declines or losses outside specific theft events.
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