Morgan Stanley’s spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETF began trading on NYSE Arca under the symbol MSBT, with 1.6 million shares traded and approximately $34 million in inflows on the first day.

With this launch, Morgan Stanley is the first major U.S. bank to issue a spot Bitcoin ETF under its own name.

Cheapest BTC ETF enters crowded field

MSBT charges a cost ratio of 0.14%. This makes it cheaper than BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), which charges 0.25%.

The fund joins more than 10 other spot Bitcoin ETFs that have been launched in the past two years and collectively represent more than $85 billion in managed assets.

Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas predicted that MSBT could reach $50 million in trading volume on its first day. This would place it among the top 1% of all ETF launches in the past year.

Distribution power vs. liquidity

Morgan Stanley employs approximately 16,000 wealth advisors who together manage $9.3 trillion in client assets.

Thanks to this network, MSBT has a distribution advantage that no other Bitcoin ETF provider has been able to match so far.

Nate Geraci, president of NovaDius Wealth Management, calls distribution the "king in the ETF market" and says that the combination of Morgan Stanley's advisory network and the lowest costs is a strong recipe.

The bank also plans to offer retail trading in crypto through E-Trade in the first half of 2026, making digital assets accessible through multiple channels.

Whether MSBT can maintain momentum against the deep liquidity and dominance of IBIT in the options market will determine whether Wall Street's entry changes the competitive position in the field.