Morgan Stanley has launched exchange-traded products tracking ether and solana, extending a crypto push that began with a bitcoin fund now holding $381 million in assets. The new ETPs list on European exchanges with expense ratios of 0.35% for ether and 0.45% for solana, undercutting several incumbent issuers. The move signals the bank's confidence that institutional appetite for digital assets extends beyond bitcoin, even as the broader market pulls back.
| Asset | Expense Ratio | 24h Price Change |
|---|---|---|
| Ether | 0.35% | -4.4% |
| Solana | 0.45% | -5.5% |
| Bitcoin | N/A | -3.1% |
Ether and solana traded lower on the news, with ETH down 4.4% to $1,869 and SOL sliding 5.5% to $72.57 over the past 24 hours, per CoinGecko data. Bitcoin slipped 3.1% to $62,991. The launches coincide with a 2.1% contraction in total crypto market cap to $2.25 trillion, suggesting the timing reflects product-readiness rather than market-timing.
Flow data from the bitcoin ETP's first half shows steady weekly inflows averaging $12-15 million, with a notable pickup in April when bitcoin rallied above $70,000. The ether and solana products open for subscription this week; early indications from authorized participants suggest initial seed capital of roughly $50 million each. Morgan Stanley's distribution agreement with Flow Traders and Jane Street provides liquidity backstopping.
The physically backed structure addresses a key allocator constraint: many European pension mandates prohibit synthetic or derivative-based crypto exposure. By mirroring the bitcoin fund's dual-custodian model, the new ETPs slot into existing compliance frameworks. A London-based multi-asset allocator noted the 0.35% ether fee "finally makes strategic allocation viable" versus the 0.75-1.0% range previously available.
• Morgan Stanley launches physical ether and solana ETPs at 0.35% and 0.45% expense ratios after its bitcoin ETP reached $381M in assets.