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Morgan Stanley unveils record-low fees for ETH and SOL spot ETFs
Morgan Stanley has amended its S-1 filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for two new spot crypto exchange-traded funds, revealing a fee structure designed to undercut competitors. The bank plans to charge a 0.14% management fee for both its Ethereum and Solana spot ETFs — a move that positions these products among the lowest-cost crypto ETFs globally.
How Morgan Stanley’s fees compare
Market data show the current cheapest spot Ether ETF in the U.S. is Grayscale’s Ethereum Staking Mini ETF at 0.15%, while Franklin Templeton’s Franklin Solana ETF (SOEZ) carries a 0.19% fee, according to Farside Investors. By setting fees at 0.14%, Morgan Stanley aims to undercut those offerings and compete directly with dominant issuers such as BlackRock and Fidelity.
Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas noted the pricing on social media, calling the fees “the cheapest in [the] US and [the] world.”
Regulatory progress and market timing
This marks the second amendment to Morgan Stanley’s ETF filings since the firm first applied in January. Amendments to SEC filings often indicate advancing conversations with regulators and can suggest an approval timeline is approaching. If green-lit, these funds would likely become the 11th spot Ether ETF and the seventh spot Solana ETF in the U.S. market.
Staking, custody and product details
Morgan Stanley’s filings also disclose plans for staking services. Figment, Galaxy Blockchain Infrastructure and Coinbase Canada are named as providers, with each fund applying a 5% fee on staking rewards. That staking charge will affect net yields for investors seeking passive exposure while earning protocol rewards.
The Ethereum vehicle will trade under the ticker MSSE and the Solana product under MSOL. Those tickers and the low-fee approach follow Morgan Stanley’s recent entry into the spot bitcoin ETF arena, where the firm launched a Bitcoin ETF in April with the same 0.14% fee.
Market impact and investor considerations
Lower management fees can help new ETFs attract flows quickly — Morgan Stanley’s Bitcoin ETF posted a solid $30.6 million first-day inflow and has since accumulated roughly $331 million in total inflows, outpacing several earlier entrants. Fee compression among spot ETFs could intensify competition, pushing larger issuers to rethink pricing or value-added services such as custody, staking integration, and institutional support.
For investors, the primary trade-offs remain fee level versus service quality: custody reliability, staking counterparty risk, and the effective yield after staking fees are all important when evaluating spot Ethereum and Solana ETFs.
As the SEC continues to review spot crypto ETF applications and amendments, fee-driven strategies from legacy financial firms like Morgan Stanley may accelerate adoption of regulated crypto ETF products across institutional and retail markets.
Source: cointelegraph
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