Morgan Stanley’s (NYSE: $MS) new spot Bitcoin (CRYPTO: $BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) attracted more than $100 million U.S. in inflows during its first week on the market.
Morgan Stanley says the Bitcoin fund is its most successful ETF launch ever.
The fund, which trades under the ticker symbol “MSBT,” has seen strong early demand, which analysts see as healthy for the crypto industry.
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Morgan Stanley’s Bitcoin ETF, which began trading on April 8, tracks the spot price of BTC. Analysts say its initial popularity is largely due to its 0.14% expense ratio, which is the lowest among a dozen similar funds.
The MSBT ETF also entered the market with a distribution advantage through Morgan Stanley’s global wealth management business, which oversees trillions of dollars in client assets.
The investment banks’ network of financial advisors provides a direct channel to investors who prefer gaining exposure to Bitcoin through managed portfolios rather crypto exchanges.
While Morgan Stanley’s Bitcoin ETF is off to a strong start, the fund is much smaller than BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ($IBIT), which has about $53 billion U.S. in assets.
Also, Morgan Stanley is likely to face increased competition as rival investment bank Goldman Sachs (NYSE: $GS) just announced plans to launch its own Bitcoin ETF.
MS stock has gained 78% over the last 12 months to trade at $191.62 U.S. per share.
