Morgan Stanley Debuts Lowest-Fee US Ethereum and Solana ETFs With Staking

Lowest fees in the segment

Both funds carry an expense ratio of 0.14%, which the source article described as the lowest among US ETH and SOL products. That places them below Grayscale’s 0.15% Mini Ethereum Trust and Franklin Templeton’s 0.19% SOEZ, according to the report cited in the earlier Telegram summary.

The launch expands Morgan Stanley’s crypto ETF lineup after the earlier debut of the Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust this year. In the new funds, Morgan Stanley Investment Management, or MSIM, acts as delegated sponsor, while Foreside Fund Services serves as the marketing agent.

Staking structure and reward pass-through

A distinguishing feature of the two trusts is that each stakes part of its crypto holdings and passes the resulting rewards to shareholders. According to the source article, MSIM said it will not keep any of those staking rewards.

The staking allocation differs between the two products. For Ethereum, the target is 50% to 80% of holdings. For Solana, the trust may stake as much as 100% of its holdings. The article said the staking arrangement uses Figment, Galaxy, and Coinbase Canada, and that service fees charged by providers are capped at 5%.

The funds’ benchmarks also differ by asset. MSSE tracks the CoinDesk Ether Benchmark 4 PM NY Settlement Rate, while MSOL tracks the CoinDesk Solana Benchmark.

Tax and disclosure framework

The source article linked the launch structure to Revenue Procedure 2025-31, a safe harbor that it said allows staking rewards to be passed through to investors without a separate tax charge. It said that treatment depends on several conditions, including third-party custody, the use of independent staking providers, and SEC-approved disclosures.

That framework is central to how these products are presented: they combine spot crypto exposure with staking yield inside an ETF wrapper while aiming to avoid a separate tax event tied to the rewards. The article did not say how much yield investors should expect, and staking outcomes can vary depending on network and operational conditions.

A broader crypto ETF push

The Ethereum and Solana launches show Morgan Stanley extending its digital-asset product range beyond bitcoin and into proof-of-stake networks. The emphasis in the initial rollout is on cost and fund structure: lower fees than competing products, partial or full staking depending on the asset, and a stated policy of forwarding rewards to shareholders rather than retaining them at the sponsor level.

Whether the funds draw significant assets was not addressed in the source article, but the pricing and staking design clearly position them as direct competitors in the growing US market for crypto investment vehicles.