Morgan Stanley has amended its application for a Bitcoin ETF, naming Fidelity as a custodian and assigning the NYSE Arca ticker “MSBT.” The updated filing reveals the fund will offer a fee waiver on the first $5 billion invested for six months. This development suggests the Bitcoin ETF may launch ahead of its previously filed Solana ETF, whose application remains unchanged.
Investment banking giant Morgan Stanley has updated its Bitcoin ETF application. The firm added Fidelity as a custodian and disclosed that the fund will be listed on the NYSE Arca under the MSBT ticker when it launches.
The Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust will offer investors a fee waiver on the first $5 billion invested for six months. This detail was included in an amendment to its S-1 form filed with the SEC.
The bank first registered its Bitcoin fund alongside a Morgan Stanley Solana Trust in January. Based on SEC filings, it appears that the BTC fund could get listed before its SOL counterpart. The Solana filing hasn’t been updated since its initial S-1 was filed.
Earlier this month, Morgan Stanley said The Bank of New York Mellon and Coinbase Custody Trust Company would custody the fund’s assets. Fidelity is now joining that list of custodians.
The updated application comes as Morgan Stanley has been signaling a broader crypto push. In February, the bank’s newly appointed digital assets strategy head, Amy Oldenburg, said the firm plans to build proprietary Bitcoin custody and trading services in-house. She stated, “We really need to build this out internally. We can’t just primarily rent the technology to do this.”
Morgan Stanley, which oversees nearly $9 trillion in client assets, confirmed last September it would offer Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana trading via its E*Trade app. The bank also filed to add an Ethereum ETF to its planned crypto lineup in January. That filing has also yet to be updated since it was first filed.
