America-based financial giant Morgan Stanley has taken a new step in the crypto market by applying to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tracking the prices of Bitcoin (BTC) and Solana (SOL).

This development highlights the growing interest in crypto products within the traditional financial world following the approval of the first spot Bitcoin ETF in the U.S. in 2024.

According to Reuters, Donald Trump’s re-election and his crypto-friendly statements have fundamentally changed the perspective of major U.S. banks towards digital assets. The regulatory environment changes have also paved the way for more traditional players to enter the sector. Spot ETFs are emerging as one of the safest and most regulated tools for institutional investors to access cryptocurrencies.

On the other hand, Morgan Stanley is one of the first institutions to step into digital assets. It is known as one of the few banks that explicitly support cryptocurrencies alongside BNY Mellon.

Even before the launch of spot ETFs in 2024, the bank invested in Bitcoin through Grayscale’s GBTC fund, and in the past, some of its executives drew attention with statements suggesting that “Bitcoin could become a global reserve currency.”
According to data platform SoSoValue, approximately $800 million in net inflows occurred into Solana ETFs launched around mid-2025. Meanwhile, spot Bitcoin ETFs have been the undisputed leader of the sector since early 2024, with a total net inflow of $58 billion.