Morgan Stanley Enters Crypto Arena as First US Bank-Affiliated Manager of Bitcoin Trust

Morgan Stanley Investment Management debuts MSBT, the first U.S. bank-affiliated Bitcoin Trust. Featuring a 0.14% fee, it sets a new standard for digital assets.

By: AXL Media

Published: Apr 9, 2026, 5:33 AM EDT

Source: Information for this report was sourced from Morgan Stanley

The Launch of a Landmark Bank-Affiliated Digital Asset

Morgan Stanley Investment Management has officially entered the digital investment space with the introduction of the Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust, trading on the NYSE Arca under the ticker MSBT. This development marks a significant shift in the financial landscape, as MSIM is now the first U.S. bank-affiliated asset manager to provide a cryptocurrency exchange-traded product. According to Ben Huneke, Head of Morgan Stanley Investment Management, the launch is designed to align with long-term financial innovation trends and meet the evolving demands of the firm’s diverse client base.

Strategic Fee Positioning and Benchmarking Standards

To remain competitive in the rapidly expanding digital asset market, MSBT has introduced a unitary delegated sponsor fee of 0.14%. This rate is currently positioned as the lowest sponsor fee for a bitcoin exchange-traded product as of the official release date. The trust is engineered to track the performance of bitcoin via the CoinDesk Bitcoin Benchmark 4PM NY Settlement Rate, which utilizes aggregated trade flow data from several major spot exchanges to ensure pricing accuracy and transparency for investors.

Institutional Infrastructure and Security Partnerships

A critical component of the trust’s operational framework involves high-level partnerships for the safekeeping of digital assets. Morgan Stanley has selected Coinbase and BNY to serve as the digital asset custodians for MSBT. Beyond its custodial role, BNY is tasked with providing essential administrative services, including accounting, recordkeeping, cash management, and acting as the transfer agent. This structure is intended to ground the digital asset capability in traditional governance and market infrastructure that institutional investors trust.