Key Highlights
- Morgan Stanley’s Bitcoin ETF, MSBT, will start trading tomorrow, April 8, on the NYSE Arca Exchange under the ticker MSBT US.
- The ETF has a low annual fee of 0.14%, and allows large investors to buy or sell shares using cash instead of actual Bitcoin.
- The Bitcoin ETF market has been volatile, with recent inflows of around $471 million in April
Morgan Stanley, an investment bank based in the U.S, is expected to launch its Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), MSBT, tomorrow, April 8, on the NYSE Arca Exchange.
The product, named the Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust, is expected to give investors exposure to Bitcoin price movements without directly buying the cryptocurrency. The ETF will operate through brokerage accounts and will be accessible to both retail and institutional investors.
Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas has confirmed the launch data on X. “Morgan Stanley Bitcoin ETF $MBST going effective tomorrow looks like, Wed 4/8, via NYSE listing notice,” he said.
How the ETF works
Based on details of the funds, the trust-based ETF will hold Bitcoin in custody on behalf of the fund. Its net asset value, which represents the total value of assets divided by the number of shares, will be calculated daily based on a benchmark index.
In addition, shares of the ETF can be created or redeemed in large blocks by authorized participants, usually institutional investors, through cash transactions. This means that instead of transferring actual Bitcoin, investors exchange cash for shares or vice versa.
Balchunas confirmed that the listing will use the ticker MSBT US with the MIC code ARCX. He added that the fund’s first-year assets will be estimated later after further analysis.
According to the initial announcement, the ETF has an annual fee of 14 basis points, or 0.14%, which is lower than the fees of similar products, including BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) and Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC), both charging 0.25%. This is expected to attract big investors who manage large amounts of money.
Bitcoin ETF market stays volatile
Meanwhile, the Bitcoin ETF market has been volatile in the past months. In February, more money left the funds than entered, but March showed a recovery.
As of April 6, approximately $471 million had already been added to the market, which had made it stable, according to data from SosoValue, led by BlackRock, which added $181 million, followed by Fidelity with $147.32 million.
However, Bitcoin itself is down 1.77% in the last 24 hours. The price has been consolidating between $65,000 and $70,000 for a week as traders stay cautious of the market. At the same time, trading volume in the last 24 hours has dropped by 16.38% to about $31.59 billion in volume, while its market cap sits at $1.36 trillion.
Meanwhile, the launch of the Morgan Stanley Bitcoin ETF will place the firm alongside other major Wall Street institutions offering Bitcoin investment products.
Its trust-based structure and low-fee model are designed to provide investors with exposure to Bitcoin through traditional financial channels, while reflecting the actual price of Bitcoin in the market.
Also Read: Dormant Bitcoin Whale Dumps 300 BTC at Loss as Market Moves Sideways
