Morgan Stanley Submits Amended S-1 Filing, Advancing Bitcoin ETF Application

BlockBeats News, March 20. According to The Block, Morgan Stanley has submitted the second version of its Bitcoin ETF application S-1 amendment to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The ETF, which was initially filed in January this year, now confirms that the fund, named the "Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust," will be listed on NYSE Arca under the ticker symbol MSBT.

The filing provided additional specifics about the product: a basket size of 10,000 shares, with plans to launch with an initial seed basket of 50,000 shares, aiming to raise approximately $1 million. Morgan Stanley also disclosed that it purchased 2 shares of the ETF for audit purposes on March 9.

The first amended version submitted earlier this month had outlined that The Bank of New York Mellon would serve as the cash custodian, administrator, and transfer agent, while Coinbase would act as the primary broker. This latest revision marks progress in the application process, although approval is not guaranteed. If approved, Morgan Stanley will be the first major U.S. bank to directly issue and sponsor its own physically backed Bitcoin ETF.