Morgan Stanley’s (MS) spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), which trades under the symbol MSBT, has attracted more than $100 million in inflows during its first week on the market, indicating strong initial demand for the bank’s latest push into digital assets.
The fund, which began trading on April 8, tracks CoinDesk’s Bitcoin benchmark New York settlement rate at 4 p.m. and charges an expense ratio of 0.14%. That makes it the cheapest product in the category, giving it a pricing advantage as competition between issuers intensifies.
Still, cost is only part of the story. MSBT enters the market with a built-in distribution advantage through Morgan Stanley’s vast wealth management business, which oversees trillions of dollars in client assets. The company’s network of financial advisors provides a direct channel to investors who prefer exposure to bitcoin. through managed wallets instead of operating on native crypto platforms.
That reach could prove critical as the bitcoin ETF spot market matures. While MSBT’s early inflows are notable, the fund is still much smaller than BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), which has amassed more than $53 billion in assets since its January 2024 launch and dominates the category.
Morgan Stanley head of digital assets Amy Oldenburg said in an interview with Bloomberg that MSBT has already become the company’s most successful ETF launch.
Some analysts expect Morgan Stanley’s product to draw assets out of existing funds like IBIT, particularly among clients already within its advisory ecosystem. At the same time, the company’s entry can help expand the overall market by attracting new investors.
Goldman filing signals broader shift on Wall Street
Morgan Stanley’s move is already prompting responses from its peers. Earlier this week, Goldman Sachs filed for a Bitcoin Premium Income ETF, marking one of its first direct entries into the cryptocurrency investment space. The proposed fund would use options strategies to generate income, reflecting a growing trend toward packaging bitcoin into products that produce steady cash flow rather than relying solely on price gains.
BlackRock is also preparing a similar income-focused ETF, underscoring how competition is moving beyond simple spot exposure toward more structured offerings.
“The significance of Goldman’s filing is that another old-guard, blue-blooded financial institution is recognizing that it can no longer ignore bitcoin,” said Nate Geraci, president of NovaDius Wealth Management. “With Morgan Stanley’s recent entry into bitcoin spot ETFs, it’s becoming clear that other legacy Wall Street firms are realizing they can’t sit still. I wouldn’t be surprised to see firms like JPMorgan soon follow suit.”
As inflows increase and new products appear, Wall Street’s role in shaping how investors access bitcoin appears to be expanding rapidly.
