Morgan Stanley Preps Bitcoin ETF For NYSE Arca Debut With $1M Seed and MSBT Ticker ⋆ ZyCrypto

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Investment banking powerhouse Morgan Stanley has revised its Bitcoin ETF filing, naming Fidelity as custodian and confirming that the fund will debut on the NYSE Arca under the ticker MSBT.

Morgan Stanley Submits Amended S-1 Filing For Its Bitcoin ETF

MSBT reflects growing institutional adoption of crypto, even amid a marketwide downturn that has left BTC down by about 44% from its historic high of about $126,000.

The most recent filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission provides additional details about the fund, including a basket size of 10,000 shares and an initial seed basket of 50,000 shares, projected to generate roughly $1 million in proceeds at launch.

Morgan Stanley also disclosed that it purchased two ETF shares on March 9 solely for auditing purposes.

An earlier filing from Morgan Stanley indicated that The Bank of New York Mellon and Coinbase Custody Trust Company would serve as custodians for the fund’s assets, with Fidelity now added to the roster.

The financial services giant initially registered its Bitcoin fund in January alongside a Morgan Stanley Solana Trust. SEC filings suggest that the Bitcoin ETF may hit the market ahead of its Solana peer.

If approved, the Morgan Stanley Bitcoin ETF would allow investors to gain exposure to Bitcoin without holding the asset directly, joining 11 other spot ETFs—including BlackRock’s IBIT—that have been trading since January 2024. Together, these funds have already drawn more than $56 billion in investor funds.

Morgan Stanley’s Expanding Crypto Strategy

The revised filing comes amid signs that Morgan Stanley is ramping up its broader push into the crypto space.

Morgan Stanley, which manages nearly $9 trillion in client assets, confirmed last September that it would enable Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana trading through its E*Trade app.

The bank also submitted a filing in January to launch an Ethereum ETF as part of its upcoming crypto offerings, just one day after registering its Bitcoin and Solana funds. That Ethereum filing has not been updated since its initial submission.

Moreover, as ZyCrypto reported last month, Morgan Stanley applied for a U.S. de novo national trust bank charter, which would enable it to custody digital assets on behalf of its clients.