Morgan Stanley is about to shake up the bitcoin ETF market with a low-cost plan, as new documents show that the Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust (MSBT) will charge 0.14% per year – dwarfing any US competition.
The amount, disclosed in the latest revised documents he shared and Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas, coming in 11 basis points below the flagship BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), which currently cases about 0.25%.
Aggressive pricing places MSBT as the cheapest bitcoin ETF in the market at launch, reflecting a deliberate push to capture both internal advisory and foreign exchange funds.
This movement is very heavy on the inside The Morgan Stanley Ecosystem. With over $8 trillion in assets under management and a team of thousands of financial advisors, the impact of fees has been one of the main barriers to the adoption of ETF based advisory strategies.
A low-cost domestic product could eliminate that friction, allowing advisors to distribute bitcoin without facing the friction associated with promoting third-party funds.
Industry observers say the change could turn things around.
Phong Le, CEO of Strategy, recently explained that the product is a “Monster Bitcoin” catalyst. comparison that even a small 2% stake in Morgan Stanley’s platform could translate into nearly $160 billion in value.
This number can exceed the size of any existing bitcoin ETF and emphasizes the importance of distribution, not just trading.
Morgan Stanley’s bitcoin ETF is coming
Disclosure of fines comes as MSBT is getting closer to implementation. The fund has already received a listing notification from the New York Stock Exchange, a step widely seen as indicating that trading could begin soon pending final approval. If approved, the deal will be the first bitcoin ETF to be offered directly by a major US bank rather than an asset manager.
Structurally, MSBT reflects the existing ETFs. The trust will hold bitcoin directly, with Coinbase serving as custodian and prime broker, while BNY Mellon will handle administration, transfer agency, and custody.
Since their debut in 2024, ETFs listed in the US have attracted easily more than $50 billion, which are mainly managed by brokers and independents. Adoption of wealth management platforms has been slow, often driven by internal policies, fee considerations, and architectural guidelines.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at around $66,000.
