Morgan Stanley's Spot Bitcoin ETF "MSBT" Set to Debut on NYSE Arca Tonight, a First for a Major U.S. Commercial Bank

April 8 — Morgan Stanley's spot Bitcoin ETF, trading under the ticker MSBT, is scheduled to begin trading tonight on NYSE Arca, marking the first time a major U.S. commercial bank has brought a Bitcoin ETF to market. The New York Stock Exchange issued a listing notice on Tuesday confirming MSBT will list on April 8. The fund will charge a 0.14% management fee, undercutting Grayscale's Bitcoin Mini Trust at 0.15% and sitting 11 basis points below the 0.25% charged by BlackRock and Fidelity's spot Bitcoin ETFs — currently the lowest fee in the segment. MSBT will launch with 10,000 shares and $1 million in seed capital. Coinbase and BNY Mellon will provide custody. Analysts see the aggressive pricing as a deliberate bid for market share, noting that similar fee gaps previously helped drive sizable flows out of Grayscale's Bitcoin Trust into competing products. The listing is part of Morgan Stanley's broader push into crypto this year. In February, the bank applied for a national trust bank charter to offer crypto custody, swaps trading, and staking services. In January, it filed to list an Ethereum staking ETF and a Solana ETF. Jeff Park, an advisor at Bitwise, said the launch is constructive for Bitcoin given ongoing unmet demand. He added that the market's growth has surpassed many industry expectations, especially in bringing in new clients. Morgan Stanley has also pointed to continued real demand even as BlackRock's IBIT became the fastest ETF on record to reach $80 billion in assets under management, a signal that the market may still be in its early stages.