Morgan Stanley Revises Ethereum and Solana ETF Pricing, Cites Low Fees
Morgan Stanley has amended its Securities and Exchange Commission filings for spotEtherand spotSolanaexchange-traded funds, according to documents lodged on Thursday. The updates indicate the firm intends to. . .
Morgan Stanley has amended its Securities and Exchange Commission filings for spotEtherand spotSolanaexchange-traded funds, according to documents lodged on Thursday. The updates indicate the firm intends to compete aggressively on cost—proposing fees of0. 14%for each product. If approved and listed, the funds would join the growing US lineup of spot crypto ETFs, including a market for staking-enabled products tied to underlying assets. For investors weighing fund expense ratios, Morgan Stanley’s latest fee positioning is notable because it aims to place itsEtherandSolanaofferings at or near the bottom of the current cost curve. Key takeawaysMorgan Stanley amended SECForm S-1filings for both spot Ether and spot Solana ETFs, proposing a0. 14%fee for each. Current lowest-fee spot Ether and Solana ETFs in the US charge0. 15%(GrayscaleEthereumStaking Mini ETF) and0. 19%(Franklin Solana ETF), respectively, per Farside Investors. Amended filings are the second update since January, a pattern often viewed as signaling the approval process is nearing completion. Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas described Morgan Stanley’s planned fees as the “cheapest” in the US and worldwide. The filings nameFigment,Galaxy Blockchain Infrastructure, andCoinbaseCanadaas providers for staking services, with a5%staking fee applied to rewards. Proposed fee structure undercuts current ETF leadersIn its updated SEC paperwork, Morgan Stanley’s plans for its spot crypto ETFs center on an expense ratio of0. 14%. The company filed amendedForm S-1statements for each ETF on Thursday, including:an Ether producta Solana productThe amendments are directly relevant to how much investors pay annually to hold the funds, and they also shape how the ETFs may compete for net inflows—especially as issuers increasingly differentiate themselves through fee levels and operational details. Based on Farside Investors data, the current lowest-fee spot Ether ETF in the US charges0. 15%—theGrayscaleEthereumStaking Mini ETF. On Solana, Farside Investors shows the lowest current fee is0. 19%forFranklin Solana ETF(SOEZ). Morgan Stanley’s proposed0. 14%would, on its face, push both products below those benchmarks. Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas highlighted the implications of the pricing. In a post on X on Friday, he said the fees make the offerings “the cheapest in [the] US and [the] world. ”Why fee competition matters for a late-to-market issuerMorgan Stanley is entering the spot crypto ETF market after early movers such asBlackRockand Fidelity established strong positions. According to the filings coverage in the article, this strategy aligns with how Morgan Stanley priced its spotBitcoinETF. ItsBitcoinETF launched in April with a0. 14%fee—lower than Grayscale’s0. 15%on its mini Bitcoin product. That pricing choice appears designed to reduce friction for investors comparing products with similar market exposure. Cointelegraphreported that Morgan Stanley’s Bitcoin ETF posted a first-day inflow of$30. 6 million, and that the fund has since accumulated total inflows of$331 million. Those figures were described as surpassing ETFs from Invesco, Franklin Templeton and CoinShares, which launched in January 2024. While those Bitcoin performance figures do not guarantee similar outcomes for Ether or Solana, the pattern reinforces why investors often treat fee levels as more than a line item: lower expense ratios can translate into a more competitive total cost of ownership, which can influence investor allocations in ETF marketplaces. Second amendment since January and what it can signalThese amendments mark thesecond timeMorgan Stanley has updated its ETF filings since it first submitted for the products in January. In the spot crypto ETF market, additional amendments are commonly interpreted as part of the iterative process of addressing SEC questions and refining disclosures—an activity many observers associate with increased likelihood of eventual approval. The article notes that amendments frequently serve as a sign that the SEC may be approaching a decision. If approved, the proposed products would bring additional spot Ether and spot Solana ETF launches to the US market—stated in the source as potentially becoming the11th spot Ether ETFand theseventh spot Solana ETFto launch in the country. Still, fee proposals and amendment frequency do not confirm approval timing. Investors should expect continued scrutiny of custody, staking mechanics, and disclosure completeness before any trading begins. Staking service providers and the rewards feeMorgan Stanley’s latest filings also outline operational arrangements for staking. The documents, as described in the source, indicate thatFigment,Galaxy Blockchain Infrastructure, andCoinbaseCanadawill provide staking services for each of the ETFs. Importantly, the staking economics in the filings differ from the fund’s standard expense ratio. The article states that each fund will charge a5%staking fee for rewards earned by the product. That structure means investors may see two layers of costs: the ETF expense ratio (0. 14%) and an additional fee applied to staking rewards. For product identification, the source also specifies ticker names:Ether ETF:MSSE(called the Morgan Stanley Ethereum Trust)Solana ETF:MSOL(called the Morgan Stanley Solana Trust)For potential investors, this distinction matters because staking-related fees can affect the net return profile of a staking-enabled ETF, even if the headline expense ratio is low. With Morgan Stanley aiming to price its Ether and Solana ETFs at0. 14%, the next key question is whether the SEC approves both products on the proposed terms and how the staking fee layer is ultimately reflected in investor disclosures and expected net performance. Risk & affiliate notice:Crypto assets are volatile and capital is at risk. This article may contain affiliate links. Read full disclosure