Morgan Stanley’s new spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) made a strong debut with $34 million in first-day net inflows. The Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust (MSBT) made a great first impression on its first day of trading and processed more than 1.6 million shares. The ETF is being viewed as one of the most significant Bitcoin ETF launches since the category was first introduced in 2024.
MSBT Launch Exceeds Market Expectations
Eric Balchunas, a Bloomberg ETF analyst, projected that the final tally could reach $50 million. He posted on X, “Trading day is half over and $MSBT is at $27m in volume so it’s def going to clear my $30m estimate. Prob end up around $50m, which is huge, Top 1% of ETF launches.” He estimates MSBT could gather as much as $5 billion in assets under management within its first year.
Important Reads: Morgan Stanley's ETF Launch and Regulatory Progress: A Big Day for Bitcoin
A major competitive advantage for MSBT is its low management fee of 0.14%, currently the cheapest among all U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs. This challenges major rivals such as BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), which charges 0.25% and manages approximately $55 billion in assets under management (AUM).
Industry experts believe Morgan Stanley’s vast wealth platform could drive substantial long-term inflows if advisors begin recommending Bitcoin allocations to clients. Currently, Morgan Stanley is serving trillions in client assets through around 16,000 financial advisors. The launch marks another step in Morgan Stanley’s broader digital asset expansion, which includes filings for Ethereum and Solana ETFs, direct spot crypto trading for Bitcoin, Solana, and Ether through E*Trade.
