Morgan Stanley filed to launch a spot style Ethereum trust that would hold ether and include staking rewards, according to an SEC registration statement dated Jan. 6. At the same time, Ethereum’s rally cooled with its first daily drop in seven sessions as price hovered above the $3,200 support zone.
Morgan Stanley files for spot Ethereum ETF as it widens crypto fund push
Morgan Stanley Investment Management filed a registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Jan. 6, 2026, seeking approval to launch the Morgan Stanley Ethereum Trust, a spot style fund designed to hold ether and track its price.
The filing says the trust would operate as a passive vehicle and would not try to outperform ether’s price through active trading. It also says the product would reflect rewards from staking a portion of the trust’s ether, alongside price performance adjusted for expenses and liabilities.
Morgan Stanley’s filing follows its recent push into crypto linked ETFs, after submitting paperwork this week for funds tied to Bitcoin and Solana.
The SEC document leaves key items unfinished, including the exchange where shares would list and the specific pricing benchmark used to value the trust. The filing also states the trust does not plan to use leverage or derivatives, and it expects creations and redemptions to drive most buying and selling of ether.
Posts describing a “$1.8 trillion” Morgan Stanley Ethereum ETF refer to Morgan Stanley Investment Management’s assets under management, not the size of the proposed Ethereum product. Morgan Stanley lists MSIM’s AUM at $1.8 trillion as of Sept. 30, 2025.
Ethereum pauses after six day rally as price tests key support near $3,200
Meanwhile, Ethereum posted its first daily decline after six consecutive green candles, marking a pause in the recent recovery rally, according to the ETH USDT daily chart on Binance. Price closed near $3,255, slipping from recent highs but remaining above a key short term support band that has defined the current structure.
Ethereum Tether/USD Daily Chart. Source: TradingView/ X
The pullback followed a steady advance from the late December lows, during which ETH reclaimed multiple resistance levels. The latest red candle cleared out a cluster of late long positions, reducing short term leverage and easing upside pressure. As a result, price action shifted from expansion into consolidation rather than a full reversal.
On the chart, Ethereum continues to trade above the $3,200 area, which now acts as a pivotal level. This zone aligns with prior consolidation and sits above a broader demand band near $3,050–$3,100. As long as daily closes hold above these levels, the higher low structure from early January remains intact.
Overhead, ETH faces resistance between $3,350 and $3,400, where prior breakdowns occurred. A sustained move through that zone would likely reopen the path toward the $3,600–$3,700 range, which previously acted as a distribution area. Failure to reclaim it could extend sideways trading and invite another test of lower support.
If Ethereum loses the $3,200 level on a daily closing basis, downside risk shifts toward the lower demand zones near $2,950 and $2,800, where buyers previously stepped in aggressively. Until then, the broader trend favors continuation rather than trend exhaustion, with the current pullback fitting a cooling phase inside a developing recovery.
