Morgan Stanley files for bitcoin and solana ETFs, deepening crypto push

• Morgan Stanley filed a Form S-1 on Jan. 6, 2026, seeking approval for a spot bitcoin exchange traded fund that would hold bitcoin directly and trade on a US exchange.
• The move highlights growing institutional confidence in regulated bitcoin products.

Morgan Stanley has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to launch a spot bitcoin BTC$93,235.03 exchange-traded fund (ETF) and solana trust, pushing its digital assets ambitions further.

The BTC product, called the Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust, is structured as an exchange-traded fund designed to track the price of bitcoin, net of fees and expenses, according to a Form S-1 submitted on Jan. 6. If approved, the fund’s shares are expected to list on a national securities exchange under a ticker symbol that has not yet been disclosed.

The bitcoin trust is sponsored by Morgan Stanley Investment Management and will hold bitcoin directly rather than using derivatives or leverage. Its net asset value will be calculated daily using a designated bitcoin pricing benchmark derived from activity on major spot exchanges. The fund will be passive and will not attempt to trade bitcoin based on market conditions.

Shares will be created and redeemed only in large blocks by authorized participants, either in cash or in kind. Cash transactions will be executed through third-party bitcoin counterparties selected by the sponsor. Retail investors will be able to buy and sell shares on the secondary market through brokerage accounts.

Morgan Stanley’s filing follows the rapid expansion of spot bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. market over the past two years. SoSoValue data shows these now have $123 billion in total net assets, equivalent to 6.57% of bitcoin’s total market capitalization. Since the start of the year, net inflows to these products have topped $1.1 billion.

Morgan Stanley has also filed a Form S-1 with the SEC for the Morgan Stanley Solana Trust, meant to track the price of solana. These funds, as data shows, have grown to more than $1 billion in total net assets, following a total cumulative net inflow of nearly $800 million.

Deeper push into crypto

The filings show Morgan Stanley shifting from simply distributing third-party crypto products to building its own in-house vehicles, signaling a deeper, higher-conviction commitment to digital assets.

This pivot is likely driven by the robust economics of the ETF and trust business, underscored by the substantial fee revenue traditional finance firms have generated from spot bitcoin products in a short period. For example, BlackRock's spot bitcoin ETFs became the firm's top revenue source in November of last year, according to BlackRock Brazil’s director of business development, Cristiano Castro, with allocations nearing $100 billion.

Unlike asset managers such as BlackRock, Morgan Stanley operates a massive wealth management arm with thousands of advisors that opened crypto access to clients in October last year. By leveraging its own ETFs, the bank can vertically integrate these products into its client portfolios, keeping management fees in-house rather than paying them to competitors.

• KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
• This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
• Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
• Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
• Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.

• Bitcoin remains stable above $90,000, reflecting consolidation rather than renewed selling pressure.
• Ethereum shows resilience with strong weekly and monthly performance, despite a cooling in futures positioning.
• Gold is expected to reach new highs in 2026 due to falling rates, central bank buying, and geopolitical risks.

Disclosure & Polices: CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk has adopted a set of principles aimed at ensuring the integrity, editorial independence and freedom from bias of its publications. CoinDesk is part of Bullish (NYSE:BLSH), an institutionally focused global digital asset platform that provides market infrastructure and information services. Bullish owns and invests in digital asset businesses and digital assets and CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive Bullish equity-based compensation.