Morgan Stanley has submitted amended S-1 registration statements for its proposed Ethereum and Solana exchange-traded funds, introducing a staking mechanism that would channel 95% of staking rewards to the trusts while charging a 0.14% annual sponsor fee.
The filings, dated June 18, 2026, detailed that both the Morgan Stanley Ethereum Trust and Morgan Stanley Solana Trust would stake a portion of their underlying crypto holdings to generate additional income for investors. Staking service providers and custodians would receive 5% of the staking rewards as compensation, with the remaining 95% staying within the funds. The sponsor would not receive any staking rewards beyond the management fee.
The Ethereum filing included operational specifics: approximately 3.64 million ETH were waiting in the validator activation queue as of May 18, 2026. The network limits validator activations to 56 per epoch, equivalent to about 57,600 ETH entering staking each day, resulting in an estimated 63-day waiting period before newly staked ETH can earn rewards. The filing also noted that staked Ether remains subject to slashing penalties if validators misbehave.
The Solana trust amendment outlined a similar reward-sharing model without specifying daily staking limits. Both filings underscore Morgan Stanley's continued push into digital asset products, following its earlier entry into the spot Bitcoin ETF market. The move aligns with a broader trend of institutions seeking regulated staking exposure for clients.
