Morgan Stanley’s Solana Trust: S-1 Filing Signals Imminent Launch

Wall Street's crypto embrace gets another high-profile stamp of approval.

The Institutional Gateway Cracks Open

Morgan Stanley's move isn't just another fund launch—it's a direct channel for accredited capital to flow into Solana's ecosystem, bypassing the usual retail exchange hurdles. The S-1 filing acts as the final regulatory checkpoint before the gates swing wide.

Why Solana? Why Now?

The bank's selection cuts through the noise, spotlighting a blockchain once written off after network outages. It signals a calculated bet on scalability and developer traction over legacy brand safety. This isn't dipping a toe; it's strategic allocation.

The Ripple Effect

Expect competing institutions to scramble their own product teams. When one major player legitimizes an asset, the herd isn't far behind—often with the subtlety of a gold rush. It validates the network's technical thesis for a risk-averse audience that still thinks 'crypto' means Bitcoin.

Another traditional finance giant hedges its bets by selling shovels, not digging for gold. The real innovation? Packaging digital scarcity for portfolios that still run on quarterly reports.

Morgan Stanley Solana Trust to offer staking

The major difference for the Solana ETF will be the immediate staking for additional passive income. The approval of another staking ETF shows trust in the Solana infrastructure. The inflow of mainstream funds will also boost the position of selected validators. Morgan Stanley may choose more than one external service provider, after

“The Trust’s staking model aims to maximize the portion of the Trust’s SOL available for staking while controlling for liquidity and redemption risks. The model determines an optimal target range for the portion of assets staked, which is set by the Sponsor and which is based on factors including lock-up periods, historical and stressed redemption activity,” explained Morgan Stanley in its filing.

There are currently no official standards on SOL staking, and the ETF will perform its own research and models. Passive staking, as well as liquid staking, offers different risk levels, and ETF issuers still have to research tax liabilities and the potential for technical or counterparty risk. 

Morgan Stanley will also take into account the unbounding period for staked SOL, as well as its investment concentration. The ETF will try to avoid staking the funds of a few larger investors, which may cause significant demand for unbounding in a short time frame. Waiting to unbound SOL may also interfere with earnings calculations, as the market remains volatile. 

BSOL leads Solana ETF

Solana ETFs have mostly seen positive inflows as a whole, adding $18.6M in the past week. Total inflows to date are at $785M. 

Bitwise’s BSOL ETF holds $638.5M, remaining the leader with almost daily purchases and no outflows. In total, ETF and treasury companies taken together hold $3.86B in SOL tokens, the equivalent of 28.4M SOL. A total of 11.28M SOL is staked, achieving 7.7% average annualized yield. 

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