Morgan Stanley submitted a Form S‑1 registration statement to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for the Morgan Stanley Ethereum Trust, with the filing dated 7 de ene. de 2026. The move formalizes an institutional route to Ether (ETH) exposure and adds a staking component that could change how regulated investors access yield on ETH.
The S‑1 describes the Trust as a passive investment vehicle that will seek to mirror ether’s performance, net of expenses and liabilities, and to reflect rewards from staking a portion of the Trust’s ether. The filing states the Trust will avoid leverage, derivatives and other complex instruments, and will value its shares daily as of 4:00 p.m. ET.
The document details three operational pillars: use of regulated third‑party custodians to hold ETH, engagement of third‑party staking service providers to operate staking on behalf of the Trust, and standard creation/redemption mechanisms accepting cash or in‑kind transactions. The S‑1 also notes that staking rewards are intended to be distributed to shareholders at least quarterly, but that distribution timing is contingent on IRS guidance.
The filing matters because it frames a regulated, custodial vehicle that seeks to track Ether’s price while distributing staking rewards — a combination that would broaden access for institutions and retail investors without direct custody of crypto assets.
As the filing puts it: “The Trust’s investment objective is to seek to track the performance of ether as measured by the Pricing Benchmark adjusted for the Trust’s expenses and other liabilities and to reflect rewards from staking a portion of the Trust’s ether,” according to the S‑1.
Regulatory context and market impact
The S‑1 is a registration statement and initiates the SEC’s review process; it is not an authorization to list or trade. The SEC approved options trading on spot Ethereum ETFs in abr. de 2025, a precedent that has shifted regulatory expectations and underpinned recent institutional filings. Morgan Stanley’s application follows earlier filings by the firm for Bitcoin and Solana products and arrives amid multiple large managers competing to offer staked‑ETH vehicles.
The filing clarifies certain custody and counterparty limits: custodians are chartered entities but are not FDIC insured; they carry private insurance where applicable. The Trust and its service providers state they will not loan or pledge the Trust’s assets, including staked assets, except as necessary under a post‑trade financing agreement. Those design choices aim to address investor concerns about custody risk and asset encumbrance.
Investors and market infrastructure providers will now focus on the SEC’s review timeline and the unresolved tax treatment of staking rewards. Approval would test custody, valuation and liquidity assumptions for spot ETH products that also deliver staking yield, and could materially expand regulated access to Ether.
The pace and scope of any approval will determine whether these products shift institutional allocations into ETH and how exchanges and custodians adapt settlement and insurance arrangements.
