Morgan Stanley is diving into crypto waters after filing to launch Bitcoin and Solana ETFs on Tuesday. The move signals major US banks are no longer sitting on the sidelines. Morgan Stanley plans to launch ETFs tied to the price of Bitcoin and Solana, the first and sixth-largest crypto assets by market capitalisation respectively, according to a Form S-1 filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
This is the first time one of the ten largest US banks by total assets has formally moved to offer crypto ETFs. An exchange-traded fund (ETF) is a basket of assets that trades on a stock exchange like a share, giving investors easy exposure to an index, sector or commodity without owning it directly. Many investors favour gaining crypto exposure via ETFs because they are low-cost and convenient. They can also offer greater liquidity while removing the regulatory and logistical complications of holding and safeguarding the underlying assets directly.
BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, said last December that its Bitcoin ETF suite had become the firm’s top revenue source, with allocations nearing $100 billion (€85bn) and generating more than $245 million (€210mn) in annual fees. US banks, which have only acted as custodians of client funds until now, seem ready and eager to evolve as providers of crypto services in 2026. At the start of 2026, Bank of America also began allowing its wealth advisers to recommend crypto allocations in client portfolios, another sign of growing adoption of crypto assets among major US banks.
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