Morgan Stanley has officially launched its long anticipated spot Bitcoin ETF, known as MSBT, which began trading on NYSE Arca yesterday. On its debut day, the fund recorded approximately 34 million dollars in trading volume and more than 1.6 million shares exchanged hands.
The ETF entered the market with a fee of 0.14 percent, making it the most affordable spot Bitcoin ETF currently available. This pricing is lower than competitors such as BlackRock’s IBIT at 0.25 percent and Grayscale’s Bitcoin Mini Trust at 0.15 percent.
ETF analyst Eric Balchunas described the launch as potentially the most significant Bitcoin ETF debut since the category began. He initially projected the fund would reach 30 million dollars in trading volume, later increasing his estimate to 50 million dollars, which would place it among the top one percent of ETF launches. Midway through the trading session, MSBT had already reached 27 million dollars before closing the day at 34 million.
Morgan Stanley’s global head of ETFs, Allyson Wallace, explained that the low fee structure was intentionally designed to demonstrate the firm’s commitment to the product. She noted that demand has been particularly strong among high net worth investors. Supporting this, data from HODL15Capital showed that the fund acquired 430 Bitcoin on its first day.
Despite the strong debut, the broader Bitcoin ETF market has experienced uneven performance. Data from SoSo Value indicated total net outflows of about 124 million dollars across spot Bitcoin ETFs yesterday, following a previous loss of 159 million dollars that ended a two day streak of inflows totaling roughly 480 million dollars.
At the same time, Bitcoin is trading slightly above 71,000 dollars, down nearly 1,800 dollars from its recent three week high of around 73,000 dollars. The earlier surge was linked to reports that Iran might require ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz to pay tolls in Bitcoin.
Morgan Stanley’s entry into the ETF space builds on earlier filings from January 2026, when the bank proposed Bitcoin and Solana related funds. This move reflects a broader shift among major financial institutions toward creating their own investment products rather than relying on third party offerings.
The MSBT fund combines traditional custody services from BNY Mellon with crypto infrastructure provided by Coinbase. It allows investors to gain exposure to Bitcoin price movements without directly owning the asset.#crypto#cryptonews https://coinsignals.nethttps://t.me/coinsignalpublic
