Morgan Stanley Files ETH and SOL ETF Amendments, Unveils Market-Low Fees
- Morgan Stanley amended S-1 filings for its Ethereum and Solana trusts to allow staking of a portion of underlying crypto holdings.
- 95% of staking rewards would remain within the trusts, while staking providers and custodians would receive 5% as compensation.
- The sponsor would not receive staking rewards beyond the management fee, according to the filings.
- Ethereum staking disclosures include validator activation limits, slashing risks, and an estimated 63-day wait before newly staked ETH becomes reward-eligible.
- The amendments follow Morgan Stanley’s broader expansion into crypto investment products, including recent wealth management initiatives involving Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana.
Morgan Stanley Updates Ethereum and Solana Trust Filings to Include Staking
Morgan Stanley has amended registration statements for the Morgan Stanley Ethereum Trust and Morgan Stanley Solana Trust, outlining plans to stake portions of the digital assets held by the funds to generate additional income for investors.
On March, Morgan Stanley has disclosed a 0.14% management fee for its proposed MSBT Bitcoin ETF in an updated S-1 filing submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The fee structure could make the fund one of the lowest-cost offerings in the rapidly growing U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF market. With Coinbase and BNY Mellon named as custodians and an NYSE listing already secured, the ETF is widely viewed as nearing its market launch.
James Seyffart reported that Morgan Stanley has filed amended S-1 registrations for both its Ethereum and Solana ETFs, signaling continued progress toward launching crypto investment products with staking features.
According to the updated S-1 filings, staking rewards would be distributed primarily to fund investors. Staking service providers and custodians would receive 5% of staking rewards as compensation, while the remaining 95% would remain within the trusts.
The filings also state that Morgan Stanley, as sponsor, would not receive staking rewards beyond the management fees already charged by the funds. Any staking income generated through the process would accrue directly to the trusts rather than being redirected to the sponsor.
The amendments represent the latest step in Morgan Stanley’s ongoing expansion of regulated digital asset investment products following its entry into the spot Bitcoin ETF market earlier this year.
Ethereum Filing Details Validator Operations and Staking Queue
The Ethereum trust filing provides additional operational details about how staking would be implemented. Under the proposed structure, custodians would deposit Ether held by the trust into Ethereum staking smart contracts, while third-party staking service providers would operate validators on behalf of the fund.
The filing notes that staked Ether remains subject to slashing penalties if validators fail to meet network requirements or violate protocol rules. In such cases, a portion of the staked ETH could be deducted from validator balances.
Morgan Stanley also disclosed network staking capacity data. As of May 18, 2026, approximately 3.64 million ETH were reportedly waiting in Ethereum’s validator activation queue.
According to the filing, Ethereum currently limits validator activations to 56 validators per epoch, allowing roughly 57,600 ETH to enter staking each day. Based on those figures, Morgan Stanley estimated that newly staked Ether could face an activation delay of approximately 63 days before becoming eligible to earn staking rewards.
The disclosures arrive as asset managers continue working with U.S. regulators on fund structures that combine direct cryptocurrency exposure with staking-based yield generation.
Solana Trust Mirrors Reward Structure as Crypto Expansion Continues
A separate amendment covering the Morgan Stanley Solana Trust outlines a similar staking framework for SOL holdings.
Under the proposed arrangement, validators operated by staking service providers may serve as delegated validators for the trust’s staked assets. Morgan Stanley stated that custodians participating in the process would not control the private keys associated with delegated SOL.
Unlike the Ethereum filing, the Solana amendment did not specify network limits on the amount of SOL that can enter staking on a daily basis.
The updated filings come as Morgan Stanley continues expanding crypto-related offerings across its wealth management business.
Recently, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management partnered with Galaxy Digital to provide eligible high-net-worth clients with a pathway to convert digital asset holdings into regulated crypto investment products through a referral arrangement.
Clients can lend assets such as Bitcoin, Ether, and Solana to Galaxy Digital and receive shares in regulated crypto investment products, including the recently launched Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust. The firms said the process can reduce crypto-to-ETP onboarding times by up to 75% while allowing investors to maintain market exposure without first liquidating their digital assets.
The filings come as the U.S. crypto ETF market continues to evolve. Earlier this year, Truth Social withdrew proposed Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF applications, while Goldman Sachs reduced its Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF exposure and exited positions linked to XRP and Solana ETFs during the first quarter of 2026. Against that backdrop, Morgan Stanley’s latest amendments highlight its continued push to expand regulated cryptocurrency investment products.
Taken together, the amended Ethereum and Solana trust filings and the Galaxy Digital partnership mark another phase in Morgan Stanley’s effort to expand regulated investment channels tied to Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana through traditional financial structures.
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