Morgan Stanley Wealth Management and Galaxy Digital partner on $5 million crypto-to-spot ETF conversions

Morgan Stanley Wealth Management has expanded its crypto offering by enabling eligible clients to lend digital asset holdings through a referral arrangement with Galaxy Digital and receive spot crypto exchange-traded product shares in return. The service is aimed at high-net-worth clients and carries a reduced $5 million minimum transaction size, down from Galaxy's usual $25 million threshold for Morgan Stanley referrals. Morgan Stanley said clients can lend Bitcoin, Ether or Solana to Galaxy, which then works with an authorized participant to deliver corresponding ETP shares into the client's brokerage account. The structure is designed to shift crypto exposure into instruments that fit more easily within traditional portfolios, with margin and lending functionality once the shares are deposited. Morgan Stanley is not executing the transactions itself, does not receive compensation for referrals, and Galaxy remains responsible for onboarding and execution. Galaxy said fees range from 15 to 25 basis points, while both firms expect onboarding times to fall by as much as 75% from a process that can take more than four weeks.