Morgan Stanley assigns MSBT ticker, commits $1M seed funding to Bitcoin ETF

Morgan Stanley has taken another step toward launching a spot Bitcoin ETF, revealing plans to list the fund under the ticker MSBT alongside a $1 million seed investment at debut.

In its latest amended filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the bank updated its original January application, formally disclosing the proposed ticker and additional structural details of the fund.

The filing outlines that the ETF will operate with a 10,000-share creation unit and will be backed initially by $1 million in seed capital—funds used to establish the product at launch. Morgan Stanley also noted it purchased two shares earlier this month for audit-related purposes.

Key service providers have already been lined up. BNY Mellon is set to manage the fund’s cash and administrative operations, while Coinbase will act as both prime broker and custodian for the ETF’s Bitcoin holdings.

The move highlights a broader push by traditional financial institutions into digital assets, as major Wall Street players look to expand access to Bitcoin for mainstream investors. If approved, the ETF would allow investors to gain exposure to Bitcoin without directly holding the asset.

Morgan Stanley’s proposed fund would join a growing lineup of spot Bitcoin ETFs already on the market, including iShares Bitcoin Trust, which have collectively drawn more than $56 billion in inflows since launching in January 2024.

Separately, the bank has also submitted an application for a Solana ETF earlier this year, though no further updates on that product have been disclosed so far.