Wall Street investment bank Morgan Stanley (MS) is proceeding with plans to launch a spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) despite a downturn in the market for digital assets.
The bank has filed with U.S. securities regulators to launch a Bitcoin ETF that will trade under the ticker symbol “MSBT.”
The latest filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also revealed key fund details such as a 10,000-share creation unit required to build the ETF.
Morgan Stanley also plans to launch the fund with a $1 million U.S. seed investment, which is the initial money used to start the ETF.
Fellow bank BNY Mellon (BKHY) has been chosen to handle the Bitcoin ETF’s cash and administrative duties, while Coinbase (COIN) will serve as custodian of the BTC holdings.
Morgan Stanley’s move highlights Wall Street’s growing push into cryptocurrencies and efforts to make Bitcoin and other digital assets more accessible to investors.
Like other crypto ETFs, Morgan Stanley’s fund will provide investors with exposure to Bitcoin without having to own it outright, tracking the digital asset’s spot price on the open market.
There are currently 11 other spot Bitcoin ETFs that have a combined $56 billion U.S. of assets under management (AUM).
Morgan Stanley has also filed an application for a Solana (SOL) ETF. The bank’s push into crypto comes despite a sharp downturn in the market since last autumn.
Bitcoin is currently trading at $70,500 U.S., having fallen from an all-time high of $126,000 U.S. reached last October.
