Morgan Stanley Adds Staking to Ethereum and Solana ETFs
Morgan Stanley Investment Management filed a third round of amendments with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on July 14 for proposed exchange-traded funds holding ether and solana.
The Morgan Stanley Ethereum Trust and Morgan Stanley Solana Trust are designed to give investors spot exposure through ordinary brokerage accounts without requiring them to buy tokens or manage private keys. If the registration statements become effective, the shares are expected to trade on NYSE Arca under the tickers MSSE and MSOL.
The amended filings expand a crypto product line that already includes the Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust, which trades on NYSE Arca with the same 0.14% annual sponsor fee, and the Stablecoin Reserves Portfolio, launched in April to hold assets that meet the GENIUS Act’s reserve requirements. Unlike the passive Bitcoin fund, the proposed Ether and Solana trusts would also generate staking rewards, combining regulated brokerage access with potential onchain income. Together, the products show Morgan Stanley building a broader digital-asset strategy spanning token exposure, stablecoin reserve management and staking rather than treating Bitcoin as a standalone offering.
April 6, 2026: Bitcoin Trust Launch
April 23, 2026: Stablecoin Reserves Portfolio
July 14, 2026: Ether and Solana Trust Amendments
What the Funds Would Hold
Both products are passive trusts that would track CoinDesk’s 4PM New York settlement benchmarks for ether and solana. They would not use leverage, derivatives or active trading strategies, so returns would primarily reflect movements in the underlying tokens, less expenses, together with any net staking income.
BNY and Coinbase Custody are named as custodians, while Morgan Stanley Investment Management would serve as delegated sponsor.
Under normal market conditions, the Ethereum trust intends to stake between 50% and 80% of its ETH, while the Solana vehicle may stake up to 100% of its SOL. Both would periodically keep assets unstaked to cover redemptions, expenses and distributions. The shared 0.14% sponsor fee therefore sits alongside different return mechanics: a larger portion of MSOL’s holdings could earn network rewards, but its liquidity management becomes more important when unstaking is delayed.
Figment, Galaxy Blockchain Infrastructure and Coinbase Canada are listed as staking providers for both products. The providers and custodians would collectively receive 5% of gross staking rewards, leaving 95% for the trusts. Net rewards would initially increase net asset value before being converted into cash for distributions expected monthly, but no less frequently than quarterly.
The prospectuses do not promise a fixed yield. Returns would depend on network conditions and the proportion of assets staked, while validator failures, penalties and unstaking delays could reduce income or complicate redemptions. Morgan Stanley may also suspend staking if it creates material legal, regulatory or tax risks. Retail investors would not be able to exchange shares directly for ETH or SOL. Only authorized participants could create or redeem 10,000-share baskets, meaning the products would remain regulated brokerage wrappers rather than substitutes for holding transferable tokens.
A 0.14% Sponsor Fee
Each trust carries a proposed annual sponsor fee of 0.14% of net asset value, accrued daily and paid monthly in arrears. Morgan Stanley would cover ordinary operating costs from that fee, while litigation and other extraordinary expenses could still be charged to the trust. Investors may separately incur brokerage commissions when trading shares.
The July 14 submissions are Amendment No. 3 to the registration statements, not approvals. The SEC must declare the filings effective before shares can be sold, and the documents remain subject to further changes. The trusts would also not be registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, meaning shareholders would not receive the protections attached to conventional registered investment companies.
The information provided in this article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, or trading advice.
Alex is Editor-in-Chief of Coindoo and co-founder of Millennial Media Group, with nearly a decade of experience covering financial markets - crypto first, then everything else. It started in 2016 with Bitcoin. Like most people at the time, he didn't fully understand it - so he kept digging. Blockchain, tokenomics, the projects, the cycles. That curiosity never stopped, and eventually pulled him into traditional markets too: equities, commodities, macro. Not because he left crypto behind, but because you can't properly understand one without the other. What drives him is straightforward: he wants to know why something is happening, not just that it's happening. Most market coverage stops at the headline - price up, price down, here's a chart. Alex finds that kind of reporting actively unhelpful. If you walk away from an article without understanding the mechanism behind the move, what did you actually learn? He holds a degree in Tourism from New Bulgarian University - not the most obvious path into financial markets, but markets have a way of pulling in people who are simply too curious to stay out. He has authored over 200 in-depth analyses and more than 10,000 articles across crypto and traditional finance. He still thinks every day in markets teaches him something new. That's probably why he hasn't stopped.
