On April 8, 2026, trading officially begins for the new spot Bitcoin ETF from Morgan Stanley, ticker MSBT, on the NYSE Arca. This is the first such exchange-traded fund based on Bitcoin launched by a leading U.S. bank.
This is reported by Finway
Trading Start and Advantages of the New ETF
The information regarding the start of trading was confirmed by a statement from NYSE Arca published on the evening of April 7. Morgan Stanley’s new product immediately attracted market attention due to its extremely low fee of just 0.14%. In comparison, the similar iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) has set a fee of 0.25%.
Market Share of MSBT and Growth Potential
Morgan Stanley submitted its application for the launch of spot ETFs for Bitcoin and Solana back in January 2026. By the time trading begins, MSBT has become the largest spot Bitcoin ETF in the U.S., controlling over 50% of the total assets under management (AUM) in this segment. In comparison, the next largest funds, FBTC and GBTC, hold approximately 15% and 10% market shares, respectively.
Despite entering the market more than two years late, experts believe that MSBT has every chance to quickly close the gap with industry leaders. A significant role in this could be played by the bank’s large and loyal customer base.
“It won’t be able to overtake BlackRock and become the largest, but I believe it will succeed. Morgan Stanley’s advantage is its loyal audience. It has its own army of advisors,” added Balchunas in a comment to Decrypt.
Bloomberg Intelligence expert Eric Balchunas emphasized that Morgan Stanley has a strong team of 16,000 advisors serving clients from the baby boomer generation. The total capital of this audience is estimated to be around $6 trillion. As a result, the bank’s brand significantly surpasses most other Bitcoin ETF providers in scale.
An additional influx of investments from Morgan Stanley clients could become a powerful driver for continuing the upward trend in the Bitcoin market. It is worth noting that the Bitcoin price recently showed growth amid a ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran.