Morgan Stanley’s MSBT moved past WisdomTree’s BTCW in daily trading volume after six sessions, while BTCW still leads on holdings and asset value.
Morgan Stanley’s MSBT moved past WisdomTree’s BTCW in daily trading volume after six sessions, while BTCW still leads on holdings and asset value.
Morgan Stanley’s newly launched Bitcoin Trust (MSBT) has moved past WisdomTree’s Bitcoin Fund (BTCW) on daily trading volume roughly six trading sessions after its debut, even as BTCW still leads on holdings and asset value. The Morgan Stanley Bitcoin fund, listed on NYSE Arca on April 8, 2026, is drawing aggressive early flows on the back of the lowest sponsor fee in the category.
The accessible comparison data supports a volume lead, not an assets lead. Bitbo’s ETF tracker currently shows MSBT daily trading volume at $23.58 million versus $0.74 million for BTCW, a gap of more than 30x in favor of the Morgan Stanley product.
On holdings, the order is reversed. The same tracker lists MSBT at 1,170 BTC worth $87.30 million and BTCW at 2,162 BTC worth $161.35 million, meaning WisdomTree still holds nearly twice as much bitcoin as its new competitor.
In other words, the six-trading-day overtake reflects how much is changing hands each session, not how much each fund has accumulated. Framed that way, MSBT is leading on activity while BTCW is leading on stock.
Pricing is the most straightforward explanation. Morgan Stanley said MSBT carries a 0.14% sponsor fee, which it described as the lowest bitcoin ETP sponsor fee as of the April 8 release. For a product competing in a crowded spot-bitcoin ETP field, undercutting incumbents on fee is the most visible lever.
Distribution showed up on day one. Unchained reported that MSBT logged $34 million in first-day net inflows and more than 1.6 million shares traded on its opening session, a strong print for a brand-new wrapper.
Morgan Stanley Investment Management’s Ally Wallace said ETPs remain a powerful way for investors to gain exposure to new asset classes within a transparent and regulated framework, per the launch release. That positioning, paired with the fee, appears to be the pitch institutional desks are responding to, though one week of tape is not enough to claim durable leadership over funds with larger asset bases.
The early traction for MSBT also lands in a nervous tape, with bitcoin trading around $74,678 and the broader sentiment backdrop stuck in extreme fear, a different environment from the enthusiastic 2024 debuts. Readers following how sentiment and cycle timing interact may recognize the backdrop from coverage of Benjamin Cowen’s October 2026 bottom call.
BTCW is not a new entrant. WisdomTree’s official BTCW fact sheet lists net assets of $150.00 million as of December 31, 2025, a figure that is not same-day AUM but still lines up directionally with the tracker reading above.
The regulatory wrapper matters for how the comparison ages. Morgan Stanley’s launch notice says MSBT’s registration statement was declared effective by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and reiterates that the trust is not registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and may trade at a premium or discount to NAV, a caveat that applies to the whole spot-bitcoin ETP cohort.
The read-through for the category is that fee compression is still reordering flows, much as distribution innovations in other parts of crypto, from exchange business models to stablecoin-funded card products, are reshaping where trading activity concentrates. MSBT has clearly won the first week of attention; whether it converts that into a lead on holdings is the next test.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Cryptocurrency and digital asset markets carry significant risk. Always do your own research before making decisions.
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