Morgan Stanley’s 16,000 financial advisors manage $6.2 trillion in client assets. These numbers were behind the key filing and explain a lot about why the bank set the proposed Bitcoin ETF fees the way they did.
Fees designed for advisors as well as investors
The bank filed an updated S-1 registration statement with the SEC on Friday, setting the fees for the proposed Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust at 0.14%.
If approved, it would have the lowest fees of any Bitcoin ETF currently trading on U.S. markets. Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said the fees were set with advisors in mind. At this price point, no one on the company’s sales floor will feel awkward recommending the product to a customer.
Morgan Stanley disclosed the 0.14% fee in its latest S-1 filing on Friday.
That’s a practical calculation. Advisors who include high-cost products in their client portfolios face questions. At 0.14% these questions disappear.
BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust charges 0.25%. Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust is 0.15%. Morgan Stanley is 1 basis point below both of its closest rivals.
Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart called it a big move and said a launch could occur in early April, pending regulatory approval.
wow. There are fees for Morgan Stanley’s spot Bitcoin ETF. $MSBT. Only 0.14% is charged!!! There is a big movement here. They don’t mess around. It will likely be released in early April. https://t.co/R0iA3wMB5N
— James Seyff (@JSeyff) March 27, 2026
Image: Kitco
First bank to issue spot Bitcoin ETF
The approval puts Morgan Stanley in one category. As of yet, no major bank has issued a spot Bitcoin ETF in the United States. This distinction, combined with our lowest fees and a distribution network of thousands of advisors, gives us a strong initial position if our products make it through the SEC.
The bank named Coinbase and Bank of New York Mellon as custodians for the fund. These are two of the most established names in digital asset management, and this combination is a sign that Morgan Stanley is building it sustainably, not testing it.
Now the rivals must make a decision. The $83 billion spot ETF market has been operating with fees of around 0.20% to 0.25%. All of these new entrants below put pressure on existing providers to respond or accept the risk of asset loss over time.
Bitcoin and more
The Bitcoin ETF is one part of a larger push. Last January, Morgan Stanley also applied for the Solana ETF and the Staked Ether ETF. A few weeks later, it applied for a national trust bank charter that would allow it to store digital assets, conduct transactions, and provide staking services directly to customers.
Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
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