Morgan Stanley said in an amended filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it plans to price its proposed spot bitcoin ETF at 14 basis points, or 0.14%.
If approved, that would put the fund below the current lowest-cost option cited in the source, Grayscale’s Bitcoin Mini Trust ETF at 0.15%. The source also says some larger spot bitcoin ETFs, including BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust, are priced at 25 basis points.
Key details from the filing
The filing was submitted Friday in an updated S-1. According to the source, the New York Stock Exchange has also issued a listing notice for the proposed fund, called MSBT, which signals it could begin trading quickly if it receives approval.
The source says spot bitcoin ETFs offer similar exposure because each fund holds bitcoin and aims to track its price. In that context, fee levels are one of the clearest differences between products.
Why the fee stands out
The gap between 0.14% and 0.15% is small, but the source describes Morgan Stanley’s proposed fee as the lowest on the market if approved. It also notes that Morgan Stanley’s wealth management business oversees trillions in client assets and has a large adviser network.
That makes the filing notable not just because Morgan Stanley is entering the spot bitcoin ETF market, but because it is doing so at a lower published fee than current rivals named in the source.