Morgan Stanley Investment Management officially launched the Morgan Stanley Ethereum Trust (MSSE) and the Morgan Stanley Solana Trust (MSOL) on the NYSE Arca exchange on July 28, 2026. The asset manager set an annual management fee of 0.14%, positioning both of its newest products as the cheapest options in the US crypto ETF market today.
This move marks a new milestone. Both are the first Ethereum and Solana ETF investment vehicles issued directly by an asset manager affiliated with a US bank. The twin products complement Morgan Stanley’s portfolio, which previously managed $392 million in assets through the Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust (MSBT) as of July 24, 2026. This launch comes alongside their decision to open direct spot trading access for BTC, ETH, and SOL on the E*TRADE platform, while applying for a national trust bank charter for digital assets.
An Added Weapon Called Staking
Beyond pushing management fees to rock-bottom levels, Morgan Stanley is using staking features as an added incentive to attract institutional clients. The MSSE trust is designed to stake 50% to 80% of its total ETH holdings. MSOL sets an even higher target, opening the door to stake up to 100% of all SOL tokens in its custody vault.
These network operations are not handled by the bank entity alone. Morgan Stanley delegates staking duties by partnering with Figment, Galaxy’s blockchain infrastructure unit, as well as Coinbase Canada. Of all accumulated staking yields, service providers and custodians take a maximum cut of 5%. The remaining network rewards are fully returned to the fund’s asset value, delivering substantial yields to investors.
Are Institutions Starting to Pivot?
The rollout of these two investment products comes amid a shifting inflow trend in the crypto market. US Bitcoin ETFs recently logged outflows for three consecutive sessions, snapping a prior seven-day streak of continuous inflows. In contrast, Ethereum-based products showed distinct momentum by drawing inflows in six of the past eight trading days.
Institutional appetite for branching out beyond Bitcoin was also reflected in portfolio disclosures from Clear Creek Financial Management. The firm reported a $15.1 million crypto ETF portfolio. While its largest allocation remains in Bitcoin ETFs via Bitwise BITB worth $9.69 million, Ethereum ETFs followed with $4.3 million in holdings, alongside additional allocations to XRP and Solana products.
The race for institutional capital has shifted from simply securing exchange approvals to fee battles and technical service enhancements. With a heavyweight asset manager like Morgan Stanley cutting management fees and returning 95% of staking rewards to investors, competing crypto ETF issuers will need new strategies to avoid lagging behind on paper.
Reported by crypto.news.
Also read: How Crypto Staking Works and Its Risks
Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only, not financial advice. Cryptocurrency assets are highly volatile and carry significant risk. Always do your own research (DYOR) and never invest more than you can afford to lose.
