Coinbase CEO Armstrong Breaks Down Significance of Morgan Stanley's Historic Bitcoin ETF Launch

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong commented on the launch of a new Bitcoin ETF by Morgan Stanley (MSBT), emphasizing the significance of this product for the institutional adoption of cryptocurrencies and highlighting the reliability of Coinbase’s infrastructure as a custodian, including for MSBT, “regardless of short term price effects.”

By midweek, the launch of Morgan Stanley’s spot Bitcoin ETF became a landmark event, despite all the turbulence currently affecting the market, marking the entry of the first major U.S. bank into the market of its own crypto funds. The debut of MSBT on NYSE Arca exceeded all analysts’ expectations and ranked among the top 1% most successful ETF launches in history.

Inside MSBT launch: Trading volume, fees and $5 billion prediction

Regarding the numbers:

• Trading volume reached $34 million, while net inflows totaled $36 million.
• To support the fund, the structure has already acquired 430 BTC.
• Despite the success of MSBT, the overall figure for all Bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. for the April 8 session was negative, at minus 124 million, which can be attributed to outflows from more expensive funds.
• Notably, MSBT has the lowest fee at 0.14%.

Continuing with Coinbase, the launch of MSBT coincided with the exchange receiving preliminary approval from the OCC to establish a national trust bank, which will strengthen its status as a federally regulated custodian.

For Morgan Stanley, for example, Coinbase Custody acts as a custodian alongside BNY Mellon, forming a combination that blends crypto-native technology with banking reliability.

As for the new Bitcoin fund, Eric Balchunas of Bloomberg estimates that, thanks to 16,000 advisors network at Morgan Stanley and $6.2 trillion in assets under management, the fund could reach $5 billion in AUM within its first year. For comparison, BlackRock’s largest Bitcoin fund has reached $55.93 billion since its launch in January 2024.