Morgan Stanley Taps Coinbase for ETH, SOL ETF Custody

Morgan Stanley filed updated S-1 registration statements on July 14 for proposed spot ether and solana exchange-traded funds, naming Coinbase as custodian and staking facilitator and listing BNY Mellon as a joint custodian for both trusts. The filings give the ethereum product the ticker MSSE and the Solana fund MSOL, and set a 0.14% annual sponsor fee for each trust.

Under the amended prospectuses the Morgan Stanley Ethereum Trust would stake 50% to 80% of its ether holdings under normal conditions, while the Morgan Stanley Solana Trust could stake up to 100% of its SOL holdings. Each trust would hold some assets in cash or liquid tokens to cover redemptions and expenses. Earlier versions of the filings named Figment Inc., Galaxy Blockchain Infrastructure LLC and Coinbase Canada Inc. as additional staking service providers. The documents state that custodians and staking providers would retain 5% of staking rewards, with 95% accruing to each trust.

The July updates follow prior amendments filed in January and a revision submitted on June 18. The successive filings reflect ongoing exchanges with the Securities and Exchange Commission; SEC approval remains pending. The filings indicate further amendments may set final launch mechanics, including the exact proportion of assets to be staked at launch and detailed redemption procedures.

The prospectuses note operational roles for service providers, with Coinbase coordinating custody and staking and BNY Mellon serving as joint custodian. Morgan Stanley previously launched a low-fee Bitcoin Trust that drew $300.7 million in inflows after it began trading in April 2025. The bank also noted its adviser network of roughly 19,000 financial advisers as a potential distribution channel for new crypto products.