Morgan Stanley’s bitcoin ETF draws $34 million on day one

Morgan Stanley’s low-fee bitcoin ETF debuted with strong early trading, signaling demand as competition shifts to cost and distribution.

What to know:

• Morgan Stanley’s new spot bitcoin ETF, trading under the ticker MSBT, launched Tuesday with more than 1.6 million shares traded and about $34 million in inflows.
• The fund tracks the CoinDesk Bitcoin Benchmark 4 PM New York Settlement Rate and charges a 0.14 percent expense ratio, making it the cheapest product in its category.
• Backed by Morgan Stanley’s vast wealth management network, MSBT could gain traction as more investors access bitcoin through financial advisors, though its ability to sustain early momentum in a market led by a few large players remains uncertain.

Morgan Stanley’s spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) began trading Wednesday with solid early activity, logging more than 1.6 million shares traded and roughly $34 million in inflows, the bank said.

The fund, listed under the ticker MSBT, tracks the CoinDesk Bitcoin Benchmark 4 PM New York Settlement Rate and charges a 0.14% expense ratio. It is the cheapest fund in the category, offering a clear, if narrow, pricing advantage to competitors.

MSBT entered the market with a different strength than others: distribution. Morgan Stanley’s wealth management arm oversees trillions of dollars in client assets and operates one of the largest financial advisor networks in the industry. That reach could help the fund gain traction as more investors access bitcoin through advisors rather than direct trading platforms.

Some experts anticipate the fund to draw capital from existing products, especially BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), the largest spot bitcoin ETF currently on the market. MSBT has a lot of catching up to do. IBIT, which launched among nine other ETFs in January 2024, has amassed over $53 billion in assets, quickly becoming the asset manager's most successful ETF.

Wednesday's trading offers an early signal of demand, though it remains to be seen whether MSBT can sustain momentum in a market dominated by a handful of large players.

UPDATE (April 8, 2026, 20:00 UTC): Adds additional detail.

More For You

Most crypto privacy models weaken as blockchain data grows. Encryption-based models like Zcash strengthen. CoinDesk Research maps the five privacy approaches and examines the widening gap.

Why it matters:

As blockchain adoption scales, the metadata available to machine learning models scales with it. Obfuscation-based privacy approaches are structurally degrading as a result. This report provides a comprehensive comparison of all five major crypto privacy architectures and a framework for evaluating which models remain durable as AI capabilities improve.

More For You

Speaking at a Mizuho event, the Strategy (MSTR) executive chairman said the formation of banking credit pairing with digital credit will be the catalyst for the next bull market.

What to know:

• Bitcoin likely bottomed near $60,000 in early February when forced sellers were flushed out, said Michael Saylor at a Mizuho event.
• Bitcoin's next price surge could come from the development of banking and digital credit markets built on BTC.
• The quantum threat to bitcoin is theoretical and likely decades away,...

Michael Saylor says bitcoin has likely bottomed, quantum risk overblown

2 hours ago

Yuga Labs settles Bored Ape NFT lawsuit, ending fight over alleged copycat tokens

3 hours ago

South Korea proposes cryptocurrency law with bank-style rules for stablecoins

4 hours ago

The Protocol: Bernstein says quantum threat to Bitcoin is real but manageable

4 hours ago

Crypto Long & Short: Asia’s digital asset crackdown: accountability gets personal

5 hours ago

U.S. Treasury proposes demands that stablecoin firms be set to police bad transactions

5 hours ago

Iran eyes crypto toll for oil tanker transits through Strait of Hormuz, according to FT

7 hours ago

Bitcoin is above $70,000 on Iran ceasefire, but rally is turning cautious for good reasons

5 hours ago

Adam Back denies he’s Satoshi Nakamoto after NYT report claims he’s Bitcoin’s creator

6 hours ago

Morgan Stanley's bitcoin ETF opens today, giving BlackRock’s $55 billion IBIT fund its toughest rival yet

8 hours ago

White House study bolsters crypto's stance in stablecoin yield fight against bankers

6 hours ago

Attacking bitcoin mining with a quantum computer would require the energy of a star, academics say

15 hours ago