Morgan Stanley has entered the game, and this time it's for real.
They have just submitted their S-1 filing to the SEC, preparing to launch their own spot Bitcoin ETF, code-named MSBT. The most aggressive part is that the management fee has been set at just 0.14%, lower than that of BlackRock and Grayscale.
Why is it so low? Because Morgan Stanley has 16,000 financial advisors, who are bound by fiduciary duties; if the fees are high, they simply won't be able to sell it. By lowering the fees to the minimum, it effectively removes barriers for internal channels.
Who are the clients served by these advisors? They are the baby boomers in the United States, holding 52% of the nation's wealth, with total assets amounting to hundreds of trillions of dollars. They will not open accounts themselves, nor will they research Layer 2 solutions, but they will have phone calls with their financial advisors every quarter.
If Morgan Stanley's ETF gets approved, it will effectively open up the private wealth management channel. Some estimates suggest that even if only 2% of client assets flow in, it would represent a demand level of $160 billion, exceeding the total of all current Bitcoin ETFs combined.
The previous two waves of capital—crypto-native users and large institutions—have already entered the market. The next wave of growth will come from these wealthy middle-aged and older individuals waiting at home for phone calls from their financial advisors.
This time, Morgan Stanley is not just issuing an ETF; they are also applying for a national trust bank license, seeking to manage custody and trading themselves, gradually freeing themselves from dependence on crypto exchanges. They have also suggested clients allocate 2%-4% of their assets into crypto assets, including retirement accounts.
2024 is when the ETF is expected to be approved, 2025 is when institutions will come in, and 2026 may be the year when the private wealth channel truly opens up. The wealth of this baby boomer generation is the real buying power. $BTC $ETH
