Morgan Stanley filed amended S-1 registration statements with the SEC on June 18, 2026 for two planned crypto spot ETFs, an Ethereum spot ETF and a Solana spot ETF, both of which feature annual unit sponsor fees of 0.14%, the lowest in the U.S. market for either asset class, according to the filings.
The central question raised by the filing is: Do such low fees, coupled with a 95% staking reward pass-through, effectively end the crypto-ETF fee war before rivals have a chance to respond?
As Morgan Stanley moves closer to approving its spot ETH and SOL ETFs, the total crypto market cap fell -2.4% overnight, falling to $2.23 trillion after surpassing $2.5 trillion less than two weeks ago.
What Morgan Stanley’s SEC Filings Really Say
Both products are offered under the symbols MSSE for the Ethereum ETF and MSOL for the Solana ETF, both aiming for listing on NYSE Arca.
The 0.14% fee is structured as a one-time charge; it accrues daily to net asset value and is paid monthly in cash, with Morgan Stanley Investment Management absorbing most of the fund’s ordinary operating expenses from this one-time fee rather than adding additional fees to it.
The staking mechanics are also noteworthy. A portion of each fund’s ETH and SOL holdings will be staked via three named providers: Figment, Galaxy Infrastructure LLC and Coinbase Canada.
Of all staking rewards generated, 95% is paid directly to the trust, increasing the net asset value for shareholders, while only 5% is paid to staking service providers. Morgan Stanley, as sponsor, receives no additional cut of staking revenue beyond its 0.14% management fee.
This is the second round of changes for both filings, which were originally submitted in January 2026. The June 18 SEC filing marks the first time a specific duty has been confirmed for either product; Earlier changes in March and May added structural details such as the proposed MSOL ticker and staking component, but left the fees blank.
The Morgan Stanley Ether and Solana ETFs are about to launch. The fee on each will be 14 basis points, making them the cheapest in the United States and around the world.
– Éric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) June 19, 2026
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How this is reshaping the crypto-ETF fee war
Context matters here. Existing Ethereum spot ETF products from issuers such as BlackRock and Fidelity typically offer fees between 0.20 and 0.30%.
On the Solana side, Franklin Templeton’s SOEZ – one of the most advanced Solana ETF filings – sits at 0.19%. Morgan Stanley’s 0.14% undercuts both benchmarks by a significant margin at this fee level.
The 2024 Bitcoin ETF fee war saw BlackRock’s IBIT (0.25%) and Grayscale’s Bitcoin Mini Trust (0.15%) engage in rounds of temporary cuts and waivers to capture assets under management.
BlackRock has since added yield-bearing structures to its Bitcoin ETF lineup to compete on more than just fees. Morgan Stanley plays a different game: enter at the floor price on day one and add the staking yield on top, making the all-in cost case harder to beat.
In a separate amended S-1 for its proposed Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust, the bank also set a fee of 0.14%, which would reduce both Grayscale’s Bitcoin Mini Trust and BlackRock’s IBIT if approved.
This product launched in April 2026, making ETH and SOL deposits the next phase of what amounts to a coordinated, low-cost multi-asset ETF stack. The SEC approval process for similar institutional products is progressing, evidenced by recent approvals of crypto ETFs for institutional issuers.
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What investors should pay attention to
The MSSE Ethereum ETF and MSOL Solana ETF remain under SEC review with no confirmed launch date. Submitting additional amendments is a sign of active regulatory engagement and not approval. Trading cannot begin until the S-1s are declared effective and NYSE Arca receives approval of the rule change for each product.
The visible next steps are responses to SEC comments and any NYSE Arca rule change filings, which would indicate that products are moving toward operational readiness.
The most immediate effect on the market could be competitive: whether BlackRock, Fidelity or Franklin Templeton revise downward their own Ethereum or Solana ETF fee schedules in response to the 0.14% level now set by Morgan Stanley.
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