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.
Tuesday’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.