Morgan Stanley has launched its spot Bitcoin ETF, MSBT, on NYSE Arca with an expense ratio of 0.14%, the lowest fee in the US spot Bitcoin ETF market. ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said the fund could gather $5 billion in assets in its first year, with roughly $30 million in trading volume expected on day one.
Low-cost entry into a market led by incumbents
MSBT arrives in a category where established issuers already control a large share of assets. According to the report, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust, or IBIT, currently holds about 60% of total category assets. Morgan Stanley’s fee undercuts Grayscale by one basis point and IBIT by 11 basis points.
Allyson Wallace, Global Head of ETFs at Morgan Stanley Investment Management, said the lower fee was meant to show commitment. She added that demand has been strong, especially from high-net-worth investors, and said the firm sees the asset class as one that is not going away.
Adviser distribution is central to the launch
Morgan Stanley Wealth Management oversees a broad adviser network with thousands of advisers and trillions of dollars in client assets. Starting in 2024, those advisers were allowed to recommend third-party Bitcoin ETFs such as BlackRock’s IBIT and Fidelity’s FBTC to clients. With MSBT now listed, the firm gains a direct position in the segment while keeping management fees in-house.
Balchunas described the decision to launch with the lowest fee as a deliberate move aimed at adviser demand, especially among professionals managing high-net-worth portfolios.
Debut comes during a weaker Bitcoin market
MSBT began trading while Bitcoin remained under pressure. The report said Bitcoin was down more than 40% from its October peak and traded at $71,307 on the day the ETF debuted.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs also went through four straight months of net outflows from November 2025 through February 2026, totaling about $6.3 billion. March brought a partial rebound with $1.32 billion in net inflows, but first-quarter flows stayed negative overall.
Morgan Stanley is widening its digital-asset push
The firm’s ETF plans extend beyond Bitcoin. In early 2026, Morgan Stanley filed applications for Ethereum and Solana trusts, showing a broader push across digital-asset products. It also plans to roll out crypto trading on E-Trade in the first half of 2026.
Custody for MSBT is handled by Coinbase Custody Trust Company and Bank of New York Mellon. The fund launched with $1 million in seed capital and 50,000 shares available for trading. On the same day, the Nicholas Bitcoin and Treasuries AfterDark ETF, or NGHT, also launched, offering long Bitcoin exposure overnight and short-term Treasury exposure during the US trading session.