Morgan Stanley Updates Ethereum and Solana ETF Filings as Coinbase Takes Custody and Staking Role

An Update With Major Implications

The Wall Street bank updated its S-1 registration statements for the proposed spot ether and solana funds, with Coinbase providing custody and facilitating staking, working alongside BNY Mellon (with the latter having been designated as a joint custodian for the Morgan Stanley Ethereum Trust and Morgan Stanley Solana Trust).

The filings keep staking at the center of the products’ design. The ethereum trust intends to stake 50% to 80% of its ether under normal conditions, while the solana trust may stake up to 100% of its SOL, keeping a portion liquid for redemptions and expenses. Staking providers and custodians would share 5% of rewards, with 95% accruing to each trust.

Earlier filing rounds named Figment Inc., Galaxy Blockchain Infrastructure LLC, and Coinbase Canada Inc. as staking service providers. The ethereum product is expected to trade under the ticker MSSE, with the Solana fund listing on NYSE Arca as MSOL.

Both funds carry a 0.14% annual sponsor fee and as Bitcoin.com News reported in June, Morgan Stanley set the 0.14% fee in its second amendment round, undercutting Grayscale’s 0.15% ether product and marking the lowest fees in the market at the time.

A Fee War With a Proven Playbook

The aggressive pricing follows a strategy the bank has already tested. Morgan Stanley’s Bitcoin Trust (MSBT) attracted $300.7 million in inflows after launching in April 2025 with the same low-fee approach, and the firm is now targeting market share in ether and solana products as fee competition intensifies across issuers.

The rapid cadence of amendments (be it the original filings in January, revisions on June 18, and now the July 14 update) suggests active dialogue with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Successive S-1 updates typically indicate regulators are engaging with an application rather than letting it sit.

Approval remains pending, and the SEC has not committed to a timeline. The next major milestone to watch is a final round of amendments setting launch mechanics, where the market will learn whether Wall Street’s biggest wealth manager can bring staking-enabled ether and solana funds to its 19,000 advisers (and whether the 0.14% fee survives contact with competitors willing to go lower).