Morgan Stanley files updates for spot ETH and SOL ETFs
Morgan Stanley has filed second amended registration statements with the SEC for proposed spot Ethereum and Solana ETFs—an update that suggests its review process may be advancing. The new filings set a 0.14% sponsor fee for both products, which—if approved—would be the lowest-cost options for spot Ethereum and spot Solana ETFs in the US market.
The sponsor fee undercuts key competitors: Grayscale’s Mini Ethereum Trust at 0.15% and Franklin Templeton’s SOEZ at 0.19% (Solana ETF). The documents also outline staking integration. Morgan Stanley plans to stake a portion of the fund holdings to generate yield, with Figment, Galaxy Blockchain Infrastructure, and Coinbase Canada named as staking service providers. These providers (along with custodians) are expected to receive 5% of staking rewards.
If the SEC approves the products, the ETFs are expected to trade under MSSE (Ethereum) and MSOL (Solana). Morgan Stanley’s prior success with its spot Bitcoin ETF (MSBT) earlier this year also sets a competitive precedent for fee pricing—its sponsor fee is likewise 0.14%.
Overall, these details make the spot ETH and SOL ETFs more concrete for traders, but regulatory approval remains the gating factor.
Neutral
This news is constructive but not yet tradable on its own because the ETFs are still pending SEC approval. The 0.14% sponsor fee and the inclusion of staking could improve expected product attractiveness versus existing ETH/SOL ETF options, which may support sentiment. However, past ETF-drama shows that filings and amendments often precede long review windows; price reactions can fade if approvals are delayed or if the SEC raises new concerns.
In the short term, traders may watch ETH and SOL for sympathy moves tied to “approval probability” and fee-based positioning. In the long term, if the SEC ultimately approves Morgan Stanley’s spot ETH and SOL ETFs with competitive fees and a defined staking model, it could broaden institutional access, improve liquidity, and structurally strengthen demand for ETH and SOL. For now, the impact is best treated as neutral: positive fundamentals are present, but the decisive catalyst (approval) has not arrived.