Morgan Stanley Files For Ethereum ETF Amid Major Crypto Push

Morgan Stanley Files For Ethereum Trust: Expanding Institutional Crypto Push

Wall Street behemoth Morgan Stanley is expanding its push into crypto ETFs, filing for an Ethereum Trust with the US SEC.

Wall Street behemoth Morgan Stanley is expanding its recent push into crypto Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) and has filed a registration statement for an Ethereum (ETH) Trust with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This follows its previous efforts to launch spot Bitcoin (BTC) and Solana (SOL) Trusts.

Morgan Stanley Ethereum Trust Details

The bank submitted an S-1 form for a vehicle that seeks to track the price of ETH and to “reflect rewards from staking a portion of the Trust’s ether.” The filing indicates plans to engage one or more Staking Services Providers while controlling for liquidity and redemption risks.

Morgan Stanley’s Ethereum ETF filing follows preliminary filings for spot Bitcoin (BTC) and Solana (SOL) Trusts submitted on Tuesday. The bank detailed that these are passive investment vehicles pending regulatory approval. Similar to the Ethereum ETF, the Solana fund will include an allocation for staking via third-party providers.

Timeline of Morgan Stanley's Crypto Evolution

Year/Date	Milestone	Client Access
2024	Managers allowed to offer BTC ETFs	Min. $1.5M assets required
Oct 2025	Expansion of crypto fund access	All clients (including retirement)
Current (2025/26)	ETH, SOL, BTC Trust Filings	Pending SEC Approval

A Broader Crypto Push

Notably, Morgan Stanley’s crypto ETF move is part of a broader shift toward a more welcoming approach that expands the presence of traditional institutions in the digital assets industry. This pivot follows US regulatory efforts led by the Trump administration to turn the country into the “crypto capital of the world.”

Amid this major push, the SEC has published new generic listing standards for crypto-based ETFs. Morgan Stanley, which had built one of the most significant Bitcoin ETF holdings in the US, allowed its managers to offer the products as an investment option for wealthy customers initially. By October 2025, it removed these restrictions, allowing financial advisors to present crypto funds to any client. It also announced last year that it would enable trading of BTC, ETH, and SOL through its E-Trade subsidiary.