Morgan Stanley Files For Ethereum ETF Amid Major Crypto Push

bitcoinistPublished on 2026-01-08Last updated on 2026-01-08

Abstract

Morgan Stanley has filed an S-1 form with the SEC for a spot Ethereum ETF, named the Morgan Stanley Ethereum Trust. The proposed fund aims to track the price of ETH and generate returns, including through staking a portion of the trust's assets. This filing follows the bank's recent submissions for spot Bitcoin and Solana ETFs, which also include staking plans for the Solana fund. This move is part of the firm's broader expansion into crypto, which includes offering crypto ETFs to its wealth management clients and enabling cryptocurrency access through its E-Trade platform. The push aligns with a wider regulatory shift in the U.S. towards embracing digital assets.

Wall Street behemoth Morgan Stanley is expanding its recent push into crypto Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) and has filed a registration statement for an Ethereum (ETH) Trust with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Morgan Stanley Files For Ethereum Trust

On Tuesday, banking giant Morgan Stanley submitted an S-1 form with the US SEC for its Morgan Stanley Ethereum Trust, which seeks to generate returns for investors by tracking the price of ETH and to “reflect rewards from staking a portion of the Trust’s ether.”

The SEC Filing shows that the bank “plans to engage one or more Staking Services Providers to conduct such Staking Activities,” using a staking model that “aims to maximize the portion of the Trust’s ether available for staking while controlling for liquidity and redemption risks.

Morgan Stanley files S-1 form for Ethereum ETF. Source: sec.gov

Nonetheless, the document doesn’t address key details, such as the exchange on which the fund will be listed, the Trust’s custodian, or the ticker. Morgan Stanley’s Ethereum ETF filing follows recent efforts to launch other investment products based on some of the largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.

As reported by Bitcoinst, the Wall Street giant announced that it had submitted preliminary filings for spot Bitcoin (BTC) and Solana (SOL) Trusts on Tuesday, seeking to hold and generate returns by tracking these two cryptocurrencies.

In a January 6 statement, the bank detailed that “Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust and Morgan Stanley Solana Trust are pending regulatory approval and would be passive investment vehicles that seek to track the performance of the price of the relevant cryptocurrency.”

Similar to its submitted Ethereum ETF, the Solana fund will include an allocation for staking, and plans to engage one or more third-party staking service providers to conduct these activities.

A Broader Crypto Push

Notably, Morgan Stanley’s crypto ETF move is part of a broader shift toward a more welcoming approach that expands the presence of traditional institutions in the digital assets industry.

This pivot follows US regulatory efforts led by the Trump administration to turn the country into the “crypto capital of the world.” Amid this major push, the SEC has published new generic listing standards for crypto-based ETFs, which have seen a successful run since their initial launch nearly two years ago.

In 2024, Morgan Stanley, which had built one of the most significant Bitcoin ETF holdings in the US, allowed its managers to offer the products as an investment option for its wealthy customers. This enabled access to individuals with a minimum of $1.5 million in assets and an aggressive risk tolerance.

In October 2025, it expanded its access to crypto fund investments for all clients, including those with retirement accounts, moving away from its previous customer restrictions. The shift allowed its financial advisors to present crypto funds to any client.

It also announced last year that it would enable trading of the largest cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana, through its E-Trade subsidiary.

Ethereum trades at $3,216 in the one-week chart. Source: ETHUSDT on TradingView

Trending Cryptos

Related Questions

QWhat type of financial product has Morgan Stanley filed for with the SEC, and which cryptocurrency does it track?

AMorgan Stanley has filed an S-1 form for a Morgan Stanley Ethereum Trust, an Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) that seeks to generate returns by tracking the price of Ethereum (ETH).

QBeyond price tracking, what additional feature does the proposed Morgan Stanley Ethereum Trust include to generate returns?

AThe Trust also aims to reflect rewards from staking a portion of its ether holdings, and it plans to engage one or more Staking Services Providers to conduct these staking activities.

QBesides an Ethereum ETF, what other two cryptocurrency-based investment products did Morgan Stanley file for on the same day?

AOn the same day, Morgan Stanley also submitted preliminary filings for a spot Bitcoin (BTC) Trust and a Solana (SOL) Trust.

QHow has Morgan Stanley's policy on offering crypto investments to its clients evolved since 2024?

AIn 2024, it allowed managers to offer Bitcoin ETFs only to wealthy customers with at least $1.5M in assets. By October 2025, it expanded access to crypto funds for all clients, including those with retirement accounts, and allowed financial advisors to present them to any client.

QThrough which subsidiary did Morgan Stanley announce it would enable direct trading of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana?

AMorgan Stanley announced it would enable trading of these major cryptocurrencies through its E-Trade subsidiary.

Related Reads

7 Months After the Collapse of Huiwang, Southeast Asia's Escrow Platforms Undergo a Major Reshuffle

Following the collapse of Huione Pay—dubbed the "Alipay of Southeast Asia"—seven months ago, the region's underground financial guarantee platform sector is undergoing a significant reshuffle. This power vacuum has been swiftly filled by emerging platforms such as XinBi, Tiger/Navigator, JinBei (renamed JinBo), Dali/Tiancheng, and FullyLight. These platforms, operating largely via Telegram and offering services like escrow for illicit transactions, have absorbed the vast user base and markets left behind by Huione. While positioning themselves as "trust intermediaries," their primary clientele consists of networks involved in online scams, money laundering, illegal gambling, and even human trafficking. For instance, the Tiger/Navigator platform explicitly provides "escrow" services for kidnapping-for-ransom operations ("强押车交易"). Data underscores the immense scale: Huione alone processed over $103 billion in cryptocurrency payments and facilitated over $31 billion through its escrow market before its downfall, linking it to Cambodia's notorious Prince Group. Since its collapse, competitors have seen explosive growth. For example, the XinBi platform has accumulated over $1.6 billion in total USDT revenue, while platforms like NewPay, OkPay (under Dali), and FullyLight Wallet collectively processed over $4.8 billion in USDT in a single year. This ecosystem thrives in regions like Cambodia and Myanmar, where regulatory gaps allow these platforms to act as critical financial infrastructure for sprawling cybercrime industries, from scam compounds to online casinos. The article concludes that the moniker "Southeast Asian Alipay" is a misnomer, obscuring the platforms' fundamental role in enabling serious criminal enterprises rather than representing legitimate financial innovation.

Odaily星球日报42m ago

7 Months After the Collapse of Huiwang, Southeast Asia's Escrow Platforms Undergo a Major Reshuffle

Odaily星球日报42m ago

The Changing Landscape: What Are Crypto VCs Experiencing?

Title: The Shifting Landscape of Crypto Venture Capital The era of dedicated crypto venture capital funds is undergoing a significant transformation. Once essential for navigating the sector's complexity and high risk, these specialized funds are now facing an identity crisis as the market matures. This shift mirrors historical patterns in other specialized investment classes like cleantech and SPACs, where initial information advantages dissipate as technologies become mainstream and integrated into existing industry frameworks. The article argues that crypto is reaching a critical inflection point, transitioning from a "building phase" to an "integration phase." Major players like Stripe, BlackRock, and Visa now engage with crypto not for its novel mechanics but as a foundational financial infrastructure. Their needs—regulatory compliance, banking partnerships, distribution channels—align with traditional fintech, a domain easily understood by large, generalist funds like Sequoia and Founders Fund. This evolution creates a "barbell effect" within the VC landscape. On one end are massive, diversified platforms that can incorporate crypto as one vertical among many. On the other are small, nimble funds focused on niche, experimental projects. The middle ground—medium-sized dedicated crypto funds—is being squeezed out. Their typical fund size makes it impossible to generate sufficient returns solely from early-stage crypto bets, yet they cannot compete with giants for later-stage deals. Consequently, leading crypto-native firms like Paradigm and Framework Ventures are expanding into AI, robotics, and other sectors, driven partly by LP pressure for better returns amid a broader VC DPI crisis. Others, like Dragonfly and a16z, have narrowed their crypto focus predominantly to financial infrastructure like stablecoins, reframing the sector's core narrative. For crypto entrepreneurs, this consolidation presents challenges. While generalist funds offer larger checks and broader resources, crypto projects now compete fiercely with AI for attention and capital within these firms. Furthermore, the long-term, non-commercial foundational work that built the ecosystem—funded by dedicated crypto VCs—is less likely to attract generalist capital focused on direct returns. The conclusion is that "crypto investor" as a standalone category is becoming obsolete, akin to "internet investor." Crypto is becoming a baseline infrastructure layer. The future will see a barbell structure: large-scale growth financing handled by generalist funds, while pioneering, speculative projects are funded by small, specialized vehicles. The dedicated crypto funds of the 2017-2021 boom, which incubated core infrastructure, are giving way to this new, bifurcated reality.

Foresight News1h ago

The Changing Landscape: What Are Crypto VCs Experiencing?

Foresight News1h ago

As Consensus Accelerates, What Are Young Investors Betting On?

Title: As Consensus Forms Faster, What Are Young Investors Betting On? In the rapid evolution of tech investment, a new generation of young investors is navigating a landscape where AI, robotics, commercial aerospace, and quantum computing are advancing simultaneously. Traditional investment logic based on financial models is giving way to a need for deep technical understanding and the ability to act before industry consensus forms. An analysis of trends from the "WAIC FUTURE TECH" list of young investment leaders reveals key shifts in focus. The first major trend is the movement of AI from the digital screen into the physical world. Investment is shifting from large language models and chatbots towards embodied AI, robotics, AI hardware, and edge computing. While demonstrations generate excitement, the real challenge lies in achieving scalable, reliable, and cost-effective delivery in complex real-world environments like factories and logistics. Success depends not just on algorithms but on the integration of sensors, actuators, and control systems. Second, the competitive focus for large models is moving beyond raw capability toward building an "intelligence flywheel." The goal is to create self-reinforcing systems where user interaction generates data, improving the model, which in turn enhances the user experience and attracts more engagement. Companies that successfully embed AI into workflows to create these closed-loop systems can build lasting value that isn't easily erased by the next model upgrade. Third, facing a potential bottleneck in high-quality human-generated data, investors are looking at new underlying technologies. Reinforcement learning and self-play, as demonstrated by AlphaGo Zero, offer paths for AI to generate its own experience. Scientific foundation models, which aim to build general AI capabilities for fields like life sciences and materials discovery, represent a non-consensus direction that could unlock new frontiers of knowledge and data. Finally, in deep-tech areas like quantum computing, commercial aerospace, and space-based infrastructure, patient capital is essential. These fields have long, uncertain development and validation cycles involving complex engineering, supply chains, and regulations. Investment here requires a long-term view, focusing on foundational team capabilities and the eventual emergence of market demand, even if commercial returns are distant. Collectively, these trends illustrate how young investors are adapting to a new era. They are learning to make earlier, technically-informed judgments, balance hype with real-world viability, and provide the patient capital needed to build the deep-tech foundations of the future.

marsbit1h ago

As Consensus Accelerates, What Are Young Investors Betting On?

marsbit1h ago

Trading

Spot

Hot Articles

How to Buy PUSH

Welcome to HTX.com! We've made purchasing Push Protocol (PUSH) simple and convenient. Follow our step-by-step guide to embark on your crypto journey.Step 1: Create Your HTX AccountUse your email or phone number to sign up for a free account on HTX. Experience a hassle-free registration journey and unlock all features.Get My AccountStep 2: Go to Buy Crypto and Choose Your Payment MethodCredit/Debit Card: Use your Visa or Mastercard to buy Push Protocol (PUSH) instantly.Balance: Use funds from your HTX account balance to trade seamlessly.Third Parties: We've added popular payment methods such as Google Pay and Apple Pay to enhance convenience.P2P: Trade directly with other users on HTX.Over-the-Counter (OTC): We offer tailor-made services and competitive exchange rates for traders.Step 3: Store Your Push Protocol (PUSH)After purchasing your Push Protocol (PUSH), store it in your HTX account. Alternatively, you can send it elsewhere via blockchain transfer or use it to trade other cryptocurrencies.Step 4: Trade Push Protocol (PUSH)Easily trade Push Protocol (PUSH) on HTX's spot market. Simply access your account, select your trading pair, execute your trades, and monitor in real-time. We offer a user-friendly experience for both beginners and seasoned traders.

4.0k Total ViewsPublished 2024.03.29Updated 2026.06.02

How to Buy PUSH

Discussions

Welcome to the HTX Community. Here, you can stay informed about the latest platform developments and gain access to professional market insights. Users' opinions on the price of PUSH (PUSH) are presented below.

活动图片