Morgan Stanley filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for an Ethereum (ETH) Trust.
The January 7th filing follows the previous day's submissions for spot Bitcoin (BTC) and Solana (SOL) ETFs.
These three filings within 48 hours represent the most aggressive expansion of crypto products ever undertaken by a major U.S. bank.
What happened
Morgan Stanley Investment Management, which manages $18 billion in assets, filed the Ethereum Trust registration on Tuesday.
The proposed fund would directly hold ether and stake a portion of its holdings through third-party providers.
The January 6 filing for the bank's Solana Trust also includes staking features, while the Bitcoin Trust functions as a passive holding vehicle.
Morgan Stanley becomes the first major U.S. bank to file for its own spot crypto ETFs instead of distributing third-party products.
The bank began offering crypto investment access to its wealth management clients in October through existing third-party funds.
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Why it matters
This rapid series of three filings demonstrates Morgan Stanley's commitment to building an internal crypto infrastructure rather than relying on competitors' products.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs currently hold $123 billion in assets, representing 6.57% of Bitcoin's total market capitalization.
BlackRock's spot Bitcoin ETF became the company's primary revenue source in November, illustrating the economic forces pushing traditional finance toward crypto products.
Staking features in Ethereum and Solana trusts represent attempts to differentiate from existing purely spot products.
Morgan Stanley's initiative could encourage other major banks to accelerate the development of their own crypto products rather than remaining mere distributors.
However, regulatory approval timelines remain uncertain, with the SEC reviewing an increasing number of crypto ETF applications.
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