Morgan Stanley launches Ethereum and Solana ETFs with 0.14% fees and staking
In brief
- Morgan Stanley launched MSSE and MSOL ETFs on NYSE Arca with 0.14% expense ratios.
- Both products integrate staking from day one, passing approximately 95% of rewards to investors.
- Figment operates validators; MSSE stakes 50–80% of holdings, MSOL up to 100%.
- First spot Ethereum and Solana ETPs from a major US bank to include staking at launch.
Staking rewards and fee structure
Morgan Stanley expects approximately 95% of the staking rewards to pass through to shareholders. MSSE generally intends to stake between 50% and 80% of its Ethereum holdings, while MSOL may stake up to 100% of its Solana holdings, though proportions may change over time.
Figment, an institutional staking infrastructure provider, was selected to operate the validators and manage staking for both funds. The arrangement lets retail investors access staking yields without managing validators themselves—a significant convenience factor in an increasingly competitive ETF landscape.
Market positioning and growth trajectory
The products mark a milestone for Morgan Stanley's crypto push. These are the first spot Ethereum and Solana ETPs from a major US bank affiliated asset manager to include staking from launch. The firm's Bitcoin Trust, launched earlier this year, offers a proof point: it accumulated approximately $400 million in assets within four months, with more than $381 million reported as of July 16.
Morgan Stanley Investment Management entered the ETF market in 2023. Since then, its wider ETF and ETP business has grown to manage more than $14 billion across 22 products. The launch of staking-integrated products on Ethereum and Solana signals the firm's intent to deepen its crypto offerings and capture yield-seeking institutional and retail capital.
The 0.14% fee tier undercuts competitors and reflects a broader industry trend toward lower-cost crypto exposure. Staking integration removes friction from the yield equation—investors don't need to bridge to a staking service or manage validator risk separately.
