Morgan Stanley Proposed Bitcoin ETF

Find out our latest reports, listed below:

• Volatility Report: February 2026

• 2026 – the year of RWA perps?
  
  
• Bybit x Block Scholes: “2026: It's Different This Time?”

• Tokenised Markets on Bitget UEX: Unlocking Real-World Assets On-Chain for 24/7 Global Access

Market Snapshot: Overnight Moves

Daily Updates:

• A recovery in risk-appetite across asset classes saw BTC reach as high as $74K yesterday, bringing its weekly performance to 7%. 
• US equities also rebounded in yesterday’s session — the S&P 500 finished 0.78% higher, the Nasdaq-100 jumped 1.51% and the Dow Jones closed up 0.49%. 

• Sentiment in risk-on markets was supported by an ISM Services report which underscored the resilience of the US economy and showed signs of cooling inflation. 
• Additionally, earlier on in the session the New York Times reported that operatives from Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence had reached out to the US CIA to negotiate an end to the Middle East war (now in its fifth day), though Tehran later dismissed those claims as “pure falsehood and psychological warfare”. 
• That caused some further whipsaw in oil prices, with crude currently trading around $76. 

• Since last Friday, before President Trump confirmed airstrikes against Iran, BTC has outperformed both gold and the S&P 500. Gold initially rallied but has since pared back its gains and is trading flat relative to last Friday. Meanwhile, BTC is up close to 10% over the same period. 
• While only a short period of outperformance, it marks a contrast to the past six months of continued gold outperformance relative to BTC (which despite recent moves still remains 40% below its all-time high). 
• We also see preliminary signs of a change in sentiment from Spot ETF investors also. The three trading days of March have so far seen Spot ETFs purchase $1.145B worth of bitcoins. 

• The ISM report showed the US service economy expanded in February to its highest level since July 2022, while the prices paid index dropped 3.6 percentage points from 66.6% to 63%, its lowest reading in 11 months (note the data was collected prior to the Iran-US war). 
• The Institute for Supply Management’s services index rose 2.3 points to 56.1%, above the level of 50% which marks an expansion in the sector. 
• The drop in the prices paid index contrasted the ISM manufacturing survey released earlier in the week which showed manufacturing input prices rose at their fastest pace since June 2022. 

• The Federal Reserve’s Beige Book, released yesterday, portrayed an economy that is still expanding, but unevenly. Seven of twelve Districts reported slight to moderate growth in activity, while five Districts indicated flat or weaker conditions.
• Consumer spending was modestly higher overall. Two Districts continued to report declines, and contacts highlighted a broad-based rise in price sensitivity, with lower-income households in particular scaling back discretionary purchases. Winter storms also disrupted retail activity in several regions.
• On the supply side, manufacturing and production trends improved, with eight Districts noting growth. Investment linked to data centres and energy infrastructure was cited as a key support.
• Labour market conditions were largely stable. Employment was little changed in seven Districts, with hiring constrained by cost pressures, softer demand, and elevated uncertainty. Firms are also accelerating the rollout of AI and automation, primarily to enhance productivity rather than to implement near-term workforce reductions.

• CME Fed Watch, however, is stating that there is a less than 3% chance of interest rate cut at the Fed meeting that is scheduled for the 18th of March. 

• The SEC has submitted commission-level guidance to the White House outlining how federal securities laws may apply to certain crypto assets and transactions, which was filed on 3 March and is now in OIRA pre-rule interagency review.

• SOL Strategies Inc. rallied more than 20% after publishing its February update, which highlighted continued momentum across its Solana staking and validator business.
• The firm said in its update that its validator network expanded to 33,568 unique wallets, while its STKESOL liquid staking product, launched in January, surpassed 691,039 SOL staked and more than 1,000 holders.
• Total assets under delegation reached 3.87M SOL, spanning treasury stake and third-party delegations, with proprietary validators earning roughly 1,276 SOL in February and delivering 99.99% uptime. 

• Morgan Stanley has submitted an amended S-1 registration statement for a proposed Bitcoin ETF.
• Custody of the fund’s digital assets would be handled through Coinbase Custody alongside The Bank of New York Mellon (BNY).

• Yesterday, Coinbase announced on X that it now offers stock trading, allowing the users to trade stocks and ETFs alongside crypto.

This Week’s Calendar:

‍

Charts of the Day:

‍