Multinational banking behemoth Morgan Stanley has filed for an Ethereum exchange-traded fund (ETF).
According to the filing, the trust is explicitly designed to offer staking rewards.
The Trust will not distribute staking rewards directly to shareholders as cash dividends. Instead, the rewards will be added to the Trust’s assets, which is expected to increase the Net Asset Value (NAV) of the Shares.
The Trust will not stake all of its assets. It uses a "Utilization Rate" model to determine the optimal amount to stake (generally expected to be between a specific percentage range.
Morgan Stanley will engage third-party staking services providers to handle the technical validation. The rewards earned will be net of fees paid to these providers and a portion retained by the sponsor.
"Pretty remarkable"
As reported, Morgan Stanley also filed for Solana (SOL) and Bitcoin (BTC) earlier this week.
The filings are a dramatic pivot for the Wall Street giant. After years of merely distributing third-party products from firms like BlackRock and Fidelity, Morgan Stanley is now launching its own competitors.
According to Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer at Bitwise, this is not business as usual. Morgan Stanley technically manages over 20 ETFs, but the vast majority operate under its subsidiary brands like Calvert, Parametric, and Eaton Vance.
"These will be the 3rd and 4th ETFs to bear the 'Morgan Stanley' brand," Hougan noted on X. "Pretty remarkable."
The inclusion of Solana alongside Bitcoin and Ethereum is perhaps the most aggressive component of the spree, given that it is viewed as a riskier bet compared to the two biggest assets.
