Morgan Stanley has officially launched two exchange-traded products offering staking exposure to Ethereum and Solana, with the bank committing to reinvest 100% of staking rewards back into the funds. The Morgan Stanley Ethereum Trust (MSSE) and Morgan Stanley Solana Trust (MSOL) started trading on NYSE Arca, each carrying a competitive expense ratio of 0.14%.
Under the terms outlined in the SEC prospectuses, Morgan Stanley will stake a portion of the underlying ETH and SOL holdings, and all net staking rewards – after a 5% service fee retained by custodians and staking providers – stay with the trusts and are distributed to shareholders, generally in cash. The bank itself will not keep any staking income, reinforcing its investor-first approach.
The products aim to attract institutional investors and financial advisers by offering indirect crypto exposure through conventional brokerage accounts, eliminating the need to open crypto exchange accounts, manage private keys, or choose validators. Staking introduces a variable income component that can partially offset the expense ratio when token prices are flat, though rewards are not guaranteed and depend on network conditions, validator performance, and liquidity requirements.
Investors should consider the trade-offs: they do not directly own ETH or SOL, cannot transfer assets to personal wallets or use them in DeFi, and staked assets face temporary lock-up periods and potential slashing losses. The products are not registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, meaning they lack some protections of conventional ETFs.
This expansion adds Ethereum and Solana to Morgan Stanley’s existing Bitcoin ETP, giving clients a broader crypto lineup within a regulated brokerage framework. The move could significantly increase institutional capital flows into ETH and SOL, reinforcing the bank’s competitive position in the rapidly growing crypto ETP market.
