Morgan Stanley sets MSBT ticker and $1 million seed capital for bitcoin ETF

Morgan Stanley wants its planned spot bitcoin BTC$70,729.11 ETF to trade under the ticker MSBT when it debuts.

The investment bank disclosed the ticker in its latest filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), amending its January application for the fund.

The filing also revealed key fund details, which include a 10,000-share creation unit required to build the ETF, and a planned $1 million seed investment, or the initial money used to start the fund. The investment bank bought two shares early this month for audit purposes, it added.

According to an earlier filing, BNY Mellon has been designated to handle the fund’s cash and administrative functions, while Coinbase will serve as prime broker and custodian of its Bitcoin holdings.

Morgan Stanley’s move underscores Wall Street’s growing push into crypto, as established banks and custodians work to make bitcoin more accessible to mainstream investors.

If approved, the Morgan Stanley ETF would let investors get exposure to bitcoin without owning it, joining 11 other spot ETFs, including BlackRock's IBIT, that have been active since January 2024. Those funds have already attracted over $56 billion in investor inflows.

The investment bank also filed an application for a Solana ETF alongside bitcoin earlier this year, but it has yet to submit any updates for that fund.