Morgan Stanley Bitcoin ETF Fee Set at 0.14% — Lowest in the US Market

TLDR

• Morgan Stanley filed to launch a spot Bitcoin ETF (MSBT) priced at 0.14%, the lowest in the US market if approved
• This undercuts Grayscale’s Bitcoin Mini Trust at 0.15% and BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust at 0.25%
• The bank’s ~16,000 financial advisors manage $6.2 trillion in assets, giving MSBT massive distribution potential
• If approved, Morgan Stanley would be the first major US bank to issue a spot Bitcoin ETF
• Bloomberg analysts expect the fund could launch as early as April 2026

Morgan Stanley has filed to launch a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund with a fee of 0.14%, which would make it the cheapest Bitcoin ETF in the United States if regulators approve it.

The fee was disclosed in an amended S-1 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday. It sits one basis point below Grayscale’s Bitcoin Mini Trust, currently the lowest-cost option in the market at 0.15%.

BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust, the largest Bitcoin ETF by assets, charges 0.25%. That puts Morgan Stanley’s proposed fund 11 basis points below the market leader.

The fund would be called the Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust, or MSBT. The New York Stock Exchange has already issued a listing notice for it, which means trading could begin quickly after approval.

Morgan Stanley selected Coinbase and Bank of New York Mellon as custodians for the fund’s Bitcoin holdings.

Why the Fee Matters

Spot Bitcoin ETFs all do essentially the same thing — they hold Bitcoin and track its price. That makes the fee one of the few real differences between competing products.

A financial advisor can move a client from a higher-fee fund to a cheaper one with a single trade, without changing the underlying exposure. This makes fee competition especially fierce in this space.

Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said Morgan Stanley’s roughly 16,000 financial advisors manage $6.2 trillion in client assets. He said the low fee means none of them would feel conflicted recommending the product.

That distribution scale is a major factor. Even small allocation shifts across that advisor network could move billions of dollars into the new fund.

Grayscale’s flagship Bitcoin Trust held about $29 billion at launch in January 2024. It now holds around $10 billion, partly due to fee-driven outflows.

Morgan Stanley’s Broader Crypto Push

The bank filed for the spot Bitcoin ETF in early January 2026, alongside a filing for a Solana ETF. Later that week, it also filed for a staked Ether ETF.

In February, the bank applied for a national trust banking charter to custody digital assets and offer staking services for clients.

Morgan Stanley appointed Amy Oldenburg, one of its longest-serving executives, to lead its digital assets team in January.

Before this institutional push, the bank had recommended a 2% to 4% crypto allocation for client portfolios and allowed advisors to suggest crypto funds for retirement accounts.

The overall US spot Bitcoin ETF market is now worth around $83 billion. Morgan Stanley’s entry at a record-low fee adds competitive pressure to every existing fund in that market.

The post Morgan Stanley Bitcoin ETF Fee Set at 0.14% — Lowest in the US Market appeared first on CoinCentral.