A Wall Street giant just redrew the floor of the crypto-ETF fee war, though only on paper so far.
What Changed: Morgan Stanley's June 18 Amendments
Morgan Stanley Investment Management filed amended S-1 registration statements on June 18, 2026 for a spot Ethereum Trust (proposed ticker MSSE) and a spot Solana Trust (proposed ticker MSOL), both targeting a listing on NYSE Arca . According to The Block, this is the second amendment to applications first submitted in January 2026 .
The headline detail is price. Both trusts propose a 0.14% unitary annual sponsor fee that accrues daily on net asset value and is paid monthly in cash, per reporting from CoinCentral . Morgan Stanley absorbs ordinary operating expenses inside that single charge, with no separate management, staking, or administrative fees on top .
Staking is built into both trusts at launch rather than bolted on later. The funds would stake a portion of holdings through three named providers, with rewards split heavily toward shareholders:
- Providers: Figment Inc., Galaxy Blockchain Infrastructure LLC, and Coinbase Canada Inc.
- Reward split: 95% of staking rewards retained for investors, 5% to providers and custodians
- No extra cost: staking carries no additional Morgan Stanley compensation beyond the 0.14% fee
One caveat matters for traders sizing this up. These are amended filings under active SEC review, not approved products. The 0.14% fee, the MSSE and MSOL tickers, and the staking terms are all reported-and-pending, drawn from the June 18 amendments and contemporaneous coverage, and subject to change before any launch . Treat them as a competitive signal, not confirmed launch specs.
Why It Matters: How 0.14% Stacks Up Against Every Named Rival
A single basis point matters here because the spot ether market already runs on thin, competitive fees. Before this filing, the lowest-cost spot ether product was Grayscale's Ethereum Mini Trust at 0.15%, in a field Investopedia summarized as ranging from 0.15% up to 2.5% at the high end . BlackRock's iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) lists a 0.25% sponsor fee and roughly $4.84 billion in net assets as of June 18, 2026 . At a reported 0.14%, MSSE would undercut the Grayscale floor by exactly one basis point.
Solana is the busier battleground. Reported management fees run roughly 0.19% to 0.50%, and headline numbers hide a second layer: separate staking levies . The table below puts the reported Morgan Stanley fees against every named rival.
| Product (ticker) | Asset | Base / sponsor fee | Staking cut |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morgan Stanley (MSSE), reported | ETH | 0.14% | 5% to providers |
| Grayscale Ethereum Mini | ETH | 0.15% | n/a |
| iShares ETHA (BlackRock) | ETH | 0.25% | n/a |
| Morgan Stanley (MSOL), reported | SOL | 0.14% | 5% to providers |
| Franklin Templeton SOEZ | SOL | 0.19% (waiver period) | n/a |
| Bitwise BSOL | SOL | 0.20% | 6% |
| VanEck VSOL | SOL | 0.30% | n/a |
| Grayscale GSOL | SOL | 0.35% | 23% |
Source: contemporaneous filing coverage and Solana fee comparisons . On the Solana side, MSOL would sit 5 bps below SOEZ's 0.19% prior low and well under BSOL's all-in cost once its 6% staking levy is layered on .
The staking reward split adds another layer to the comparison. Per the amendments, both funds stake through Figment, Galaxy Blockchain Infrastructure, and Coinbase Canada, with providers and custodians keeping just 5% of staking rewards and 95% passed to investors, with no extra Morgan Stanley charge beyond the 0.14% fee . That reframes the comparison for yield-seekers:
- Grayscale GSOL retains 23% of staking rewards .
- Bitwise BSOL adds a 6% staking fee on top of its 0.20% base .
- A 95%/5% pass-through means more net yield reaches the holder than the headline fee alone suggests.
The combination of the market-low headline fee and the 95%/5% reward pass-through puts pressure on rivals whose all-in costs are inflated by separate staking fees . For traders, the takeaway is that all-in cost, not the sticker fee, is where this filing actually lands.
What to Watch Next: SEC Clock, MSBT Precedent, and Rival Responses
Morgan Stanley's own track record gives the best available context. The bank's spot Bitcoin trust launched in April 2026 at the same 0.14% fee and had drawn roughly $300.7 million in cumulative net inflows by mid-June 2026 . That figure is what the ETH and SOL amendments point to: a market-low price that has already drawn institutional flow.
The deciding factor is SEC approval, and no date is confirmed. Note the pace of the paperwork: the official Bitcoin S-1/A filed March 17, 2026 still carried a placeholder fee ([•]%) rather than a number . The amendment cycle moves quickly, but the reported 0.14% MSSE and MSOL terms remain pending review until a final prospectus locks them in .
For competitors, the pressure runs deeper than the headline fee. Any fund whose all-in cost sits above 0.14%, especially products charging separate staking fees, now faces a pricing decision. These are the specific funds to watch:
- Grayscale: the 0.15% Ethereum Mini Trust floor and a 0.35% GSOL expense ratio that adds a 23% staking fee .
- Bitwise: BSOL's 0.20% management fee plus a 6% staking fee, currently inside a three-month waiver window .
- Franklin Templeton: SOEZ's 0.19% rate, paired with its own fee-waiver period .
Waiver extensions or outright cuts seem more likely than no response. The structure puts pressure on rivals whose all-in costs are inflated by separate staking fees .
One caveat tempers the math. The 95%/5% reward pass-through is yield-dependent: on-chain ETH and SOL staking rates fluctuate with network conditions, so the investor benefit of the staking design rises and falls accordingly. For traders, the concrete takeaway: track the SEC's approval timeline and whether rivals blink on fees, then judge the product on all-in cost net of staking yield, not the 0.14% sticker alone.
Frequently asked questions
What are the tickers for Morgan Stanley's new ETH and SOL ETFs?
The proposed tickers are MSSE for the Morgan Stanley Ethereum Trust and MSOL for the Morgan Stanley Solana Trust, with both products targeting NYSE Arca as their listing exchange . These tickers, along with the headline fee, are not yet final. They appear in the June 18, 2026 amended S-1 filings, which are the second amendment to applications first submitted in January 2026, and remain subject to SEC review before any of the terms are locked in .
How does Morgan Stanley's 0.14% fee compare to existing Ethereum ETFs?
At a reported 0.14% unitary sponsor fee, MSSE would undercut every named spot ether competitor and become the lowest-cost product in the category if approved . The current market floor is Grayscale's Ethereum Mini Trust at 0.15%, against a field that ranges from 0.15% to 2.5% . BlackRock's iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) charges 0.25% and held roughly $4.84 billion in net assets as of June 18, 2026 .
Do Morgan Stanley's ETH and SOL trusts include staking rewards?
Yes. Both proposed trusts would stake a portion of holdings through three named providers (Figment Inc., Galaxy Blockchain Infrastructure LLC, and Coinbase Canada Inc.), according to filing-based reporting . Investors would keep 95% of staking rewards, with providers and custodians collectively receiving 5%, and the single 0.14% fee is reported to cover all other operating costs with no separate staking charge .
When could Morgan Stanley's ETH and SOL ETFs launch?
No launch date is confirmed. The June 18, 2026 filings are the second amendment to the January 2026 originals and remain under SEC review, so timing depends on how that review proceeds . The closest timing reference is Morgan Stanley's own spot Bitcoin trust (MSBT), which is reported to have launched in April 2026 after a comparable amendment cycle and drawn roughly $300.7 million in cumulative net inflows by mid-June 2026 .
