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Aug 19, 2026
2min read
byTokoni Uti
forBlockchainReporter
Morgan Stanley Investment Management has appointed Galaxy as one of three approved validators to stake portions of its new Ethereum and Solana exchange-traded products, MSSE and MSOL, with Galaxy announcing the mandate on August 18 and reporting $2.8 billion in staked assets at the end of Q2 2026. The trusts plan to pass staking rewards to shareholders, which boosts institutional crypto adoption and staking yield, but also ties product performance to validator uptime, protocol penalties, withdrawal mechanics and operational risk.
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Morgan Stanley Investment Management is adding network participation to its crypto investment products rather than limiting them to passive token exposure. The asset manager has selected Galaxy as an approved validator for new Ethereum and Solana exchange-traded products that intend to stake part of their holdings.
According to Galaxy’s August 18 announcement, the Morgan Stanley Ethereum Trust trades on NYSE Arca under MSSE, while the Morgan Stanley Solana Trust uses MSOL. Galaxy is one of three firms selected to support staking across the two products.
Staking Rewards Are Intended for Shareholders
MSSE and MSOL seek to track ETH and SOL performance, respectively. Each product intends to delegate a portion of its assets to institutional validators and pass resulting staking rewards to shareholders through regular distributions.
The structure introduces operational questions that do not arise in a product that only holds tokens. Ethereum and Solana use different validator systems, client software, performance measures, and risk controls. A validator can also face downtime, operational errors, or protocol penalties, making infrastructure selection part of the product’s risk profile.
Galaxy said Morgan Stanley evaluated its capabilities on the two networks separately. The release does not specify how much of each trust’s holdings will be staked, the expected reward rate, or the allocation among the three selected providers.
Galaxy Extends Its Institutional Validator Business
Galaxy reported $2.8 billion in staked assets at the end of the second quarter of 2026 across Ethereum, Solana, and other proof-of-stake networks. The company presents the mandate as an extension of its infrastructure work for asset managers rather than a new consumer staking product.
That role differs from corporate treasury staking, such as the activity behind BitMine’s expanding Ethereum validator operation. In an exchange-traded product, the infrastructure provider operates within a structure that must account for fund custody, liquidity, disclosures, and shareholder distributions.
Crypto Products Move Beyond Price Exposure
The launch illustrates how institutional crypto products are becoming more operationally complex. Staking can add yield, but it also ties product performance to validator uptime, withdrawal mechanics, network rules, and the treatment of rewards.
Traditional spot funds have already made Bitcoin and Ether easier to access, with flows tracked through products covered in recent institutional ETF demand. Morgan Stanley’s new trusts go a step further by seeking to include a native network function in the investor return profile.
The products’ intended staking arrangements remain subject to their governing documents and operational execution. Galaxy’s announcement confirms its selection, but it should not be read as a guarantee of future reward levels or uninterrupted validator performance.
Source: cryptorank.io