Morgan Stanley enters bitcoin ETF race with market-leading low fee

Morgan Stanley plans to price its proposed spot bitcoin BTC$65,811.84 exchange-traded fund (ETF) at 14 basis points, a level just below current low-cost options for similar products, according to an amended filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The move could set off a new round of fee competition among existing funds.

The latest S-1 filing, filed Friday, shows the bank undercutting rivals that charge closer to 15 to 25 basis points. The lowest fee on the market today is Grayscale’s Bitcoin Mini Trust ETF BTC$65,811.84, which carries a 0.15% expense ratio. Larger funds, including BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), priced their products at 25 basis points.

On paper, the gap looks narrow. In practice, it may be enough to shift money.

Spot bitcoin ETFs offer near-identical exposure. Each fund holds bitcoin and aims to track its price. That leaves cost as one of the few variables investors and advisors can act on. A financial advisor can move a client from one ETF to another with a single trade, keeping the same exposure while lowering annual fees.

That dynamic has shaped the ETF market before, and lower-cost products tend to attract inflows, while higher-fee funds can see assets drift out over time. Grayscale’s flagship product, its Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), holds about $10 billion in assets, down from $29 billion at launch in January 2024.

Morgan Stanley’s scale adds another layer. Its wealth management arm oversees trillions in client assets and has one of the largest adviser networks in the industry. Even small allocation changes across that base could move billions of dollars between funds.

The pricing decision also points to strategy. By entering with a lower fee, Morgan Stanley may be aiming to quickly gain share in a market where products are hard to differentiate. Cost and access, not structure, often decide which funds grow.

The filing follows confirmation from the New York Stock Exchange that it has issued a listing notice for MSBT, signaling the product could begin trading quickly if approved.

If regulators sign off, the fund would be the first spot bitcoin ETF issued directly by a major U.S. bank, setting up a new phase of competition where fees and distribution drive the outcome.