Key Highlights
- Morgan Stanley submitted revised S-1 documents to the SEC for Ethereum and Solana exchange-traded funds
- Each fund features a 0.14% yearly expense ratio — undercutting all current competitors
- Investors will retain 95% of staking earnings, with custodians and service providers splitting the remaining 5%
- Trading symbols will be MSSE for Ethereum and MSOL for Solana
- The firm’s Bitcoin ETF, which debuted in April, has accumulated over $300.7 million in net assets
Morgan Stanley has submitted updated S-1 registration documents to the Securities and Exchange Commission for a pair of digital asset ETFs — one focused on Ethereum, the other on Solana. These represent the second round of amendments to applications initially filed in January.
This development comes on the heels of the investment bank’s Bitcoin ETF debut in April, which has generated cumulative net inflows totaling $300.7 million through June 18.
Industry-Leading Fee Structure
The Morgan Stanley Ethereum Trust and Morgan Stanley Solana Trust will each implement an annual sponsor fee of just 0.14%. This expense is computed on a daily basis and deducted monthly from the net asset value of each fund.
This 0.14% pricing represents the most competitive rate available in either sector. By comparison, Grayscale’s Mini Ethereum Trust carries a 0.15% fee, while Franklin Templeton’s Solana ETF charges 0.19%. Morgan Stanley’s Bitcoin ETF similarly launched with a 0.14% expense ratio, establishing a benchmark below industry peers.
The Ethereum fund will be listed with the ticker symbol MSSE, while the Solana fund will use MSOL.
Staking Mechanics Explained
Both investment vehicles intend to stake portions of their cryptocurrency holdings to generate supplementary returns for shareholders.
For the Ethereum trust, custodial partners will deposit ETH into staking protocols on the blockchain. Designated staking operators will then manage validator nodes on the fund’s behalf. The funds will utilize Figment Inc., Galaxy Blockchain Infrastructure, and Coinbase Canada as authorized staking service providers.
Staking operators and custodians will collectively earn 5% of generated staking income. The other 95% remains within the fund structure for investor benefit. The sponsor organization will not collect any portion of staking proceeds apart from the regular management fee.
The Ethereum documentation acknowledges that staked ETH faces slashing exposure. This mechanism allows validators to lose ETH from their accounts if protocol violations occur or performance standards aren’t met.
As of May 18, 2026, approximately 3.64 million ETH was queued for validator activation. The Ethereum network caps new validator additions at 56 per epoch, translating to about 57,600 ETH daily. This creates an anticipated waiting period of roughly 63 days before freshly staked ETH begins generating returns.
The Solana documentation employs a comparable staking framework but didn’t specify a maximum daily staking threshold. Custodians handling staked SOL for the Solana fund will not maintain possession of private keys for those tokens.
Current Status
The submission of subsequent amendments typically indicates ongoing dialogue with SEC personnel and suggests the approval process is advancing.
Market observers are also monitoring Morgan Stanley for a potential XRP ETF filing. The institution recently revealed holdings in existing XRP exchange-traded products, sparking speculation about a forthcoming application.
The SEC recently greenlit BlackRock’s Bitcoin Premium Income ETF, which began trading on June 16.
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