Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Spot ETF to List on NYSE Tonight, First Major U.S. Bank to Launch Bitcoin ETF

On April 8, Morgan Stanley’s Bitcoin ETF (MSBT) will officially list on the NYSE Arca market tonight, making it the first major commercial bank in the U.S. to launch a Bitcoin ETF. The New York Stock Exchange issued a listing notice on Tuesday, confirming that MSBT will be listed on April 8. The management fee for Morgan Stanley’s spot Bitcoin ETF is 0.14%, lower than Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust fee of 0.15%, marking the lowest rate in the current market. It is also 11 basis points lower than the 0.25% fees of BlackRock and Fidelity’s spot ETFs. The ETF will have an initial size of 10,000 shares with seed investment funding of $1 million, and custodians include Coinbase and BNY Mellon. Analysts believe this pricing is smart and competitive, likely to attract asset migration, as similar fee discrepancies have previously led to significant outflows from Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust to competitors. The listing of MSBT is one of Morgan Stanley’s major moves to expand in the crypto market this year. In February, the bank applied for a national trust bank license to offer clients crypto asset custody, trading swaps, and staking services; in January, it also applied to list Ethereum staking ETF and Solana ETF. Bitwise advisor Jeff Park stated that Morgan Stanley’s launch of a Bitcoin ETF is positive for Bitcoin, as there remains significant unmet demand in the market. The market size far exceeds the expectations of cryptocurrency professionals, especially in attracting new clients. Despite IBIT becoming the fastest ETF to reach $80 billion in AUM, Morgan Stanley still believes there is substantial real demand in the market that remains unfulfilled. This sends a strong signal: we are still in the very early stages.