Morgan Stanley filed preliminary documents Tuesday for exchange-traded funds holding Bitcoin and Solana, marking the Wall Street bank's direct entry into digital asset investment products.
What Happened: Wall Street Bank Goes Crypto
Morgan Stanley Investment Management Inc. will sponsor both a Bitcoin Trust and a Solana Trust, according to the preliminary filings submitted to the SEC. The Solana product includes provisions for staking, a mechanism that allows token holders to earn rewards by supporting network operations.
The bank's decision follows its October 2025 authorization allowing financial advisers to offer crypto investments to clients.
Both filings await approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission, which has shifted toward a more accommodating stance on digital assets under Chair Paul Atkins, appointed by President Trump last year.
The move builds on guidance from Morgan Stanley's Global Investment Committee, which published a paper recommending clients consider a maximum 4% allocation to digital assets.
The committee described cryptocurrencies, particularly Bitcoin, as a speculative asset class with growing adoption, comparing Bitcoin to scarce resources like gold.
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Why It Matters: Regulatory Clarity
The filings come two years after the SEC approved the first U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin ETF, which triggered broader institutional participation in digital assets.
Regulatory developments under the Trump administration, including the appointment of Atkins as SEC chair and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's December decision to permit banks to facilitate cryptocurrency transactions, have encouraged traditional finance firms to expand into digital assets.
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