In Morgan Stanley ETF news, the asset manager filed amended S-1 registration statements with the SEC on June 18, 2026 for the Ethereum and Solana spot ETFs, both priced at a 0.14% annual sponsor fee, undercutting all existing U.S. competitors in both categories. The filings also introduce staking provisions that transform them into yield-generating instruments rather than passive tracking vehicles.
The central tension this filing brings to light is that the fee pressure that has reshaped the Bitcoin ETF market is now arriving simultaneously in ETH and SOL, and incumbent issuers like Grayscale and Franklin Templeton are cutting costs or being left behind on price.
This news came as Bitcoin surged +1.5% the day after news broke that Michael Saylor Strategy purchased 520 Bitcoins for $35 million, sparking a positive market reaction.
Franklin Templeton has filed for two new bitcoin-related ETFs: the Franklin US Equity Bitcoin DRIP Index ETF and the Franklin US Innovation Bitcoin DRIP Index ETF.
Both funds would maintain a 95% US stock/5% bitcoin allocation by automatically reinvesting dividends in stocks… pic.twitter.com/V5imybEmu3
— Frank Chaparro (@fintechfrank) June 21, 2026
What Morgan Stanley ETF Actually Filed and How Fee Calculation Works
Both products – the Morgan Stanley Ethereum Trust (proposed symbol: MSSE) and the Morgan Stanley Solana Trust (proposed symbol: MSOL) – are structured as grantor trusts that directly hold spot ETH and SOL.
The 0.14% sponsor fee is calculated on net asset value (NAV), accrues daily and is paid monthly from trust assets, according to the amended SEC filing. Investors see the fees reflected in the fund’s tracking performance rather than as a separate fee.
This structure mirrors Morgan Stanley’s own Spot Bitcoin ETF (MSBT), which launched at the same rate of 0.14%, creating a consistent platform-wide pricing strategy for all three assets.
The bank submitted a first application for these products in January 2026; The June changes represent at least a second round of revisions as part of the SEC’s review of staking mechanics and fee structure.
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Staking Provisions: Where These ETFs Go Beyond Just Spot Exposure
Staking is the mechanism that distinguishes these deposits from those of a standard cash ETF. When a blockchain like Ethereum or Solana uses proof-of-stake consensus, the system by which validators lock tokens to confirm transactions and secure the network, token holders can in return earn a yield on their holdings.
The Morgan Stanley filings redirect 95% of these rewards to the fund’s shareholders, with the remaining 5% allocated to the named infrastructure providers: Figment Inc, Galaxy Blockchain Infrastructure LLC and Coinbase Canada Inc.
This structure effectively provides both ETFs with yield-enhanced spot exposure, which is particularly important for Solana, where native returns from on-chain staking are significantly higher than those from Ethereum.
An analysis by CoinMarketCap Academy noted that Morgan Stanley is “forcing competitors to either reduce costs or improve their own value-add,” particularly when it comes to staking and liquidity services.
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Fee Comparison: How Morgan Stanley Compares to Its Competitors
(SOURCE: CoinGlass)
At 14 basis points (one basis point equals 0.01 percentage points), Morgan Stanley undercuts all existing US ETH and SOL spot products. Grayscale’s Mini Ethereum Trust, already a response to fee pressure in the Ethereum ETF category, charges a 0.15% fee. Franklin Templeton’s Solana ETF is trading at 0.19%, meaning Morgan Stanley is undercutting it by five basis points.
These numbers may seem limited in isolation. At scale, among institutional allocators operating under strict fee caps or pension mandates, even a one basis point difference can materially affect net returns and determine which fund captures new flows.
This is exactly how the Bitcoin ETF fee war played out following the launch of spot BTC products in January 2024, with TradFi issuers racing to the ground to gain assets under management. The same dynamic now has a second front.
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