Morgan Stanley's $MSOL Debuts With $19M Trading Volume as Solana ETF Fee War Heats Up

Morgan Stanley Investment Management, the asset management arm of the eponymous financial services giant, entered the Solana Spot ETF race yesterday, July 28, with the launch of the Morgan Stanley Solana Trust ($MSOL) on NYSE Arca. The firm also launched the Morgan Stanley Ethereum Trust ($MSSE) on the same day.

The fund charges a 0.14% expense ratio, making it the lowest-cost Solana ETF in the U.S. market.

The launch also expands Morgan Stanley Investment Management's ETF and ETP platform, which now includes 22 products with more than $14 billion in assets under management. The firm's digital asset lineup now covers $BTC, $ETH, and $SOL after launching the Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust earlier this year.

$MSOL’s Strong First Day Trading

$MSOL recorded roughly $19 million in trading volume during its first day, with 951,216 shares changing hands.

Like its competitors, the ETF integrates staking from launch. Morgan Stanley intends to stake up to 100% of the fund's $SOL holdings, although that allocation may vary. Investors will receive an anticipated 95% of staking rewards, while Morgan Stanley will not retain any share of those rewards. Institutional staking provider Figment will supply staking services for the new fund.

Bloomberg Senior ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas described the launch as one of the most significant developments for spot ether and Solana ETFs since the initial wave of crypto ETFs.

He noted that Morgan Stanley's 16,000 financial advisors oversee roughly $7 trillion in client assets, giving the firm's products access to one of the largest wealth management networks in the world. Balchunas also pointed out that the firm's 0.14% fee immediately made both $MSOL and $MSSE the cheapest funds in their respective categories, while highlighting that Morgan Stanley plans to pass 100% of staking rewards back to ETF investors.

"Digital assets are becoming an increasingly important component of diversified investment portfolios. As client interest in digital assets continues to grow, we’re focused on providing a range of digital asset solutions that allow investors to diversify their portfolios across traditional and decentralized asset classes while also adhering to Morgan Stanley’s standards for governance, infrastructure and risk management." - Amy Oldenburg, Head of Digital Asset Strategy at Morgan Stanley

Competition Intensifies on Fees

Morgan Stanley's aggressive pricing arrived as competition among Solana ETF issuers continues to increase.

On July 27, 21Shares announced a 12-month sponsor fee waiver for its Solana ETF (TSOL). Beginning July 28, the fund reduced its fee from 0.21% to 0.00%, temporarily making it the lowest-cost Solana ETF in the United States until July 28, 2027.

The U.S. Spot Solana ETFs are sorted by their fees in the table below:

Mixed Signals Across the Solana ETF Market

Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley also highlighted another milestone yesterday, announcing that one of the world's largest wealth management firms had made the Bitwise Solana Staking ETF available to its advisors and clients. He described the move as another sign that Solana continues to move further into mainstream finance.

Despite that announcement and Morgan Stanley's debut, U.S. spot Solana ETFs collectively recorded $18.07 million in net outflows on July 28. All outflows came from Bitwise's $BSOL, marking the largest single-day outflow from U.S. spot Solana ETFs in 8 months. The last time a larger outflow occurred was on December 3, 2025, when investors withdrew $32.19 million.

Unless U.S Spot Solana ETFs see some humongous inflows before the end of the week, July would mark a second consecutive month with net outflows since the $786,580 netted in June.

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