Author|jk
What is this ETF?
On April 8th, Morgan Stanley officially launched the Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust (ticker: MSBT) on the NYSE Arca platform, a subsidiary of the New York Stock Exchange, making it the first spot Bitcoin ETF in U.S. history to be issued under the name of a major commercial bank.
The fund has Coinbase serving as the cryptocurrency custodian and The Bank of New York Mellon handling cash and administrative duties. Its core competitive advantage lies in its annual fee of 0.14%. This is the lowest among all current U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs, lower than BlackRock's IBIT at 0.25%, Grayscale Mini BTC at 0.15%, and Bitwise's BITB at 0.20%.
To briefly summarize Morgan Stanley: It is one of the top-tier investment banks and financial services companies in the United States, founded in New York in 1935; with a market capitalization of approximately $1.8 trillion, it is one of the Global Systemically Important Banks (G-SIB), standing alongside Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and Bank of America as a top Wall Street institution; it consistently ranks among the top three globally in areas such as IPO underwriting, M&A advisory, and stock brokerage.
First Week Inflow and Outflow Data
On the first day of trading (April 8th), MSBT recorded a net inflow of $30.6 million, with a trading volume of approximately $34 million and over 1.6 million shares traded. Notably, the entire Bitcoin ETF market saw a net outflow of $93.9 million that day, with Fidelity's FBTC and ARK 21Shares both experiencing significant outflows; only BlackRock's IBIT and MSBT recorded positive inflows against the trend. In other words, this ETF attracted capital against the trend amidst a market-wide sell-off. On April 9th, as market sentiment improved with news of U.S.-Iran ceasefire talks, the entire Bitcoin ETF market shifted to a net inflow of $304 million. MSBT continued to record a net inflow of $14.9 million, ranking third among all ETFs for the day, behind only BlackRock's IBIT ($269.3 million) and Fidelity's FBTC ($53.3 million).
Entering the following week (Monday, April 13th), the market weakened again, and the entire Bitcoin ETF market returned to a net outflow state. On Tuesday, April 14th, the situation was similar, with Fidelity's FBTC experiencing a single-day outflow as high as $229.2 million, leading to a total market net outflow of $291 million. However, MSBT recorded a positive inflow of $6.28 million, standing alongside BlackRock's IBIT and Bitwise's BITB as the only three mainstream Bitcoin ETFs to maintain net inflows that day.
Cumulative data: Since inception, it has accumulated a net inflow of $37.5 million, with fund AUM approximately $63.84 million (according to Morgan Stanley). SoSoValue data shows $70.12 million, holding about 960 BTC. The market price shows a 0.57% premium to NAV. Since inception, the market price return is +6.86%, and the NAV return is +6.24%.
Behind the Data: Institutions Accumulating at Bear Market Lows
The inflow data for MSBT, placed in the current market context, sends a very clear signal.
Bitcoin experienced a significant correction after hitting an all-time high of $126,198 in October 2025 and is currently oscillating in the $70,000-$75,000 range, a decline of approximately 44% from the peak. Throughout the first few months of 2026, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs experienced four consecutive months of net outflows, with low market sentiment and retail investors exiting.
But what are institutions doing? MSBT's data provides a good example.
First, regarding the timing of the launch, Morgan Stanley prepared this product for about 18 months, ultimately choosing to launch it at a time when Bitcoin was nearly halved from its all-time high and market sentiment was widespread, rather than chasing the rally at the bull market top. Secondly, this ETF saw continuous inflows against the trend during a period of widespread pessimism. On April 13th and 14th, while the entire Bitcoin ETF market saw significant net outflows (a single-day outflow of $291 million on the 14th), MSBT still maintained positive inflows.
This indicates that the funds flowing into MSBT are not hot money transferred from other ETFs due to the lower fee rate.
Third, Morgan Stanley's internal recommended allocation is as high as 4%. The bank had previously advised clients to set their Bitcoin allocation between 0% and 4%. With the launch of MSBT, advisors now have a direct internal tool with the lowest fee. If Morgan Stanley's approximately 16,000 wealth advisors are actively promoting this allocation to high-net-worth clients, even a tiny percentage reallocation from the $7 trillion in client assets under management could bring in billions in sustained inflows. Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas even predicts MSBT's AUM could reach $5 billion within a year.
Goldman Sachs is Also Preparing to Enter
Finally, just six days after MSBT's listing, on April 14th, Goldman Sachs announced it had applied to launch its first-ever proprietary Bitcoin ETF, becoming another major U.S. bank to enter the fray following Morgan Stanley.
However, Goldman's product is fundamentally different from MSBT. This fund, named the "Goldman Sachs Bitcoin Premium Income ETF," employs a Covered Call strategy, aiming to generate ongoing premium income while maintaining Bitcoin exposure. According to the application process, it is expected to launch as early as late June to early July 2026.
The fund will allocate at least 80% of its net assets to Bitcoin-linked instruments, including spot Bitcoin ETPs, related options, and Bitcoin ETP index options, while using a covered call strategy to generate monthly income. The specific operation is: the fund dynamically adjusts the proportion of options sold between 40% and 100% of its Bitcoin exposure—this range design allows the fund to continuously collect option premiums in sideways or mildly rising markets, but during significant Bitcoin rallies, the fund's performance will lag behind pure spot ETFs due to capped upside gains.
Simply put, this is a structure that "trades a portion of upside potential for stable cash flow"—regularly distributing option premiums to holders, suitable for investors who want exposure to the Bitcoin narrative but prioritize stable cash flow over full price appreciation. Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas thus dubbed it "Boomer Candy," tailor-made for those traditional institutional investors who want a piece of the Bitcoin action but can't stomach the high volatility.
Goldman's entry immediately spurred a single-day market-wide inflow of $411.5 million. In other words, there's no need to panic in the bear market; top Wall Street institutions have begun collectively positioning themselves.
Conclusion
The first-week numbers for MSBT's listing don't appear particularly striking on the surface. The cumulative inflow of $37.5 million is微不足道 (negligible) compared to BlackRock IBIT's $55 billion size. However, the signal itself is very significant: a century-old institution managing $7 trillion in wealth, entering the market with the lowest fee in history during a period when Bitcoin had corrected 44% and market sentiment was extremely pessimistic, and relying on 16,000 advisors to continuously push allocations to high-net-worth clients. For readers focused on institutional movements, MSBT's weekly inflow data will become an important window into Wall Street's true stance going forward.
