Headline: Morgan Stanley’s Crypto ETF Venture: A Strategic Move Beyond Immediate Gains Translation: Morgan Stanley’s Crypto ETF Venture: A Strategic Move Beyond Immediate Gains

Investment bank Morgan Stanley is expected to benefit from launching its own ETFs, even if they yield low returns. This perspective was shared by Jeff Park, the investment director at ProCap.

On January 6, Morgan Stanley submitted applications to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to launch two spot ETFs. One fund will track the price of Bitcoin, while the other will focus on Solana. If approved, more than 19 million clients of the bank’s wealth management division will gain access to these products.

According to the expert, the financial institution is betting on long-term brand advantages rather than solely on capital influx.

Park believes that the establishment of a Bitcoin spot ETF signals «foresight and boldness» on the part of the asset manager, helping to cultivate the image of a progressive company, which is particularly important in the competition for attracting top talent.

«This is a positive external factor that will aid in recruiting top specialists amidst competing firms,» emphasized ProCap’s CIO.

He also highlighted Morgan Stanley’s plans to monetize its brokerage division ETRADE through partnerships in tokenization and cryptocurrency trading. The digital asset market has proven to be significantly larger than industry professionals anticipated, the expert added.

Morningstar analyst Brian Armor speculated that Morgan Stanley’s «unexpected» move aims to transition existing clients into its own funds.

«The bank’s entry into the crypto ETF sector will add legitimacy to the market, and others may follow suit,» Armor stated in a comment to Reuters.

At the beginning of 2026, the cryptocurrency market demonstrated resilience due to a renewed influx of funds into spot ETFs. However, fundamental on-chain indicators continue to decline, suggesting hidden demand weakness.

Bitcoin concluded 2025 with consolidation below the resistance level of $92,000. Prices stabilized due to institutional flows against a backdrop of low holiday liquidity. On January 5, the first cryptocurrency was trading around $93,000, while Ethereum maintained around $3,200.

According to BRN, net inflows into spot Bitcoin ETFs totaled $459 million from December 29 to January 2, with trading volume around $14 billion. Ethereum funds attracted $161 million, and products based on XRP brought in $43 million. The trend reversal occurred after prolonged outflows in December.

BRN’s head of research Timothy Misir pointed out that growth is driven by external capital, while internal market resources are depleted.

«Optimism has returned, but investor confidence remains conditional,» the analyst stressed.

The fundamental picture contrasts sharply with price dynamics. By the end of December, the 30-day change in Bitcoin’s realized market capitalization had dipped into negative territory. This marked the end of one of the longest periods of capital inflow into the network in history. Long-term holders began to accelerate loss-taking despite a relatively stable price.

Misir described the situation as typical of a late-cycle phase: volatility decreases, while time becomes the principal stress factor. Investors are leaving the market not out of fear, but due to exhaustion.

Analysts at QCP Capital also maintain caution. Despite positive signals in the options market and interest in long positions, liquidity remains fragile. Traders’ focus has shifted away from political news (such as U.S. operations in Venezuela) to macroeconomic data, which will dictate future rate expectations.

American spot ETFs based on XRP closed the trading day with a negative balance for the first time. This ended a 36-day streak of inflows.

On January 7, the total outflow from five funds amounted to $40.8 million. Only the TOXR product from 21Shares showed negative dynamics, with investors withdrawing $47.25 million from it. Funds from Canary, Bitwise, and Grayscale recorded slight inflows of about $2 million.

BTC Markets analyst Rachel Lucas referred to the first outflow as a «noticeable shift,» but noted its modest scale—less than 3% of total incoming funds. The expert explained the situation as profit-taking following XRP’s rise from $1.8 to $2.4 and a general market correction.

Lucas emphasized that fundamental indicators remain strong: exchange reserves are at lows, and transaction volumes are high. Upon a renewed influx of funds, the asset might test the $3 mark.

Recall that in October, Morgan Stanley analysts advised financial advisors and clients to consider adding cryptocurrencies to multi-asset portfolios.