Morgan Stanley launched the first Wall Street bank Bitcoin ETF, MSBT, on April 8. It attracted $30.6 million in first-day inflows on the NYSE Arca, as monitored by Farside Investors. This debut was modest compared to earlier spot Bitcoin ETF launches. However, with the lowest expense ratio, it presents a competitive fee advantage.
Morgan Stanley has launched the first Bitcoin-tracking exchange-traded fund from a major Wall Street bank. The fund, trading under the ticker MSBT on NYSE Arca, recorded first-day inflows of $30.6 million, according to data from Farside Investors.
This initial performance was lower than the debut of several spot Bitcoin ETFs in January 2024. On that day, funds from Bitwise and Fidelity saw inflows of $237.9 million and $227 million, respectively.
Despite its later entry, MSBT holds a fee advantage with an expense ratio of 0.14%. This makes it cheaper than competing funds from BlackRock and Grayscale. Allyson Wallace, global head of ETFs at Morgan Stanley Investment Management, stated in a Bloomberg interview, “The demand, especially from the high-net-worth investors, has been quite high.”
The launch reflects a broader institutional shift toward cryptocurrency capabilities. Strategy’s new CEO, Phhong Lee, recently noted major financial firms are building Bitcoin services, remarking, “Probably nothing.”
Market conditions were volatile during the ETF’s introduction. Cryptocurrency prices initially surged over 4% on April 8 following geopolitical news, but later retreated. Bitcoin remained above $70,000, trading near $71,500 at the time of reporting.
