Hassan Maishera
TL;DR
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Morgan Stanley filed the S-1 registration statement with the SEC on Wednesday.
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The Morgan Stanley Ethereum Trust that will hold Ethereum and track its price while generating rewards through staking.
Morgan Stanley Seeks to Launch an Ethereum ETF
Morgan Stanley, one of the leading financial services firms in the world, submitted an Ethereum Trust registration to the SEC on Tuesday. This latest development comes after the bank filed for Bitcoin and Solana ETFs with the regulator.
According to the S-1 registration statement, the Morgan Stanley Ethereum Trust will hold Ethereum and track its price while generating rewards through staking. The trust structure reflects staking rewards through net asset value rather than direct shareholder distributions, differing from approaches used by rival issuers like Grayscale.
Furthermore, Morgan Stanley Investment Management will sponsor the passive investment vehicle, holding Ethereum directly and valuing shares daily based on pricing benchmarks from major trading venues. The fund will stake a portion of its holdings and distribute rewards to shareholders quarterly.
According to Bloomberg Intelligence analysts James Seyffart and Eric Balchunas, the initial filings came as a surprise.
This latest development comes after Morgan Stanley expanded access to its crypto fund to all clients in October 2025, including retirement accounts, after previously limiting exposure to high-net-worth individuals.
The sixth-largest bank in the U.S. by assets under management partnered with Zerohash in September to enable Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana trading through its E*Trade platform.
