Morgan Stanley debuts ETH and SOL exchange-traded products. Apple faces a lawsuit over a fake bitcoin wallet. And Wall Street giants back the Clarity Act.
Morgan Stanley is expanding its digital asset lineup with two new exchange-traded products — the Morgan Stanley Ethereum Trust (MSSE) and Morgan Stanley Solana Trust (MSOL) — set to begin trading on NYSE Arca. Both funds track CoinDesk benchmark indexes, carry a market-leading 0.14% expense ratio, and will pass staking rewards through to investors. The launch follows the success of the firm's bitcoin fund (MSBT), which gathered more than $381 million in assets since its debut earlier this year. Morgan Stanley enters the increasingly crowded ether and solana ETP space with a notable structural advantage: roughly 16,000 financial advisors overseeing more than $9 trillion in client assets, plus direct retail reach through E*TRADE. There are already eight SOL ETFs on the market with nearly $900 million in combined net assets, but Morgan Stanley's distribution footprint could give its products a significant edge in attracting both institutional and self-directed investors.
The only NYSE-listed crypto exchange, regulated by NYDFS, HKSFC, Bafin, and GFSC. Built for institutional trading, on the infrastructure regulated markets require.
One global order book, open 24/7, serving institutions in 50+ jurisdictions, with deep liquidity that holds in volatile markets.
Top 3 for BTC and ETH volume among the exchanges in the CME CF benchmarks. (CoinDesk Data)
Not investment advice. Digital assets and related products are high risk. Visit bullish.com/legal for more important information and risk warnings.
A federal lawsuit filed July 24 alleges Apple left a fraudulent app impersonating Sparrow Wallet active in its App Store for more than a week after a customer reported losing $875,000 — long enough for a second user to lose roughly $840,000. Three plaintiffs say they collectively had about $1.84 million stolen after downloading the fake app and entering their bitcoin seed phrases, which gave the scammers full control of their wallets. They argue Apple's marketing led them to believe App Store listings had been vetted and were safe. The suit brings eight claims covering consumer-protection laws, negligent misrepresentation, and failure to warn, and asks Apple to disclose the limits of its review process and strengthen its controls. Apple told MacRumors it has since removed apps impersonating Sparrow Wallet and terminated associated developer accounts, noting it rejected over 371,000 copycat and misleading submissions last year and stopped more than $2.2 billion in potentially fraudulent transactions.
Some of the biggest names in traditional finance — BlackRock, Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, Goldman Sachs, and SoFi — have publicly endorsed the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act in recent days, calling for Congress to pass legislation that would establish a new regulatory framework for crypto and clarify how the SEC and CFTC share jurisdiction over digital assets. The wave of support also exposed a fault line: JPMorgan has sided with the banking industry in backing tighter restrictions on stablecoin yield, putting it at odds with Coinbase and most of the crypto sector, who argue those changes would weaken the bill. Goldman CEO David Solomon acknowledged the bill "is not perfect" but said he supports moving it forward to get market structure rules in place. The Senate faces a shrinking runway — the chamber is set to begin its summer recess on August 8, leaving only days to advance the legislation before the break.
BTC stability hasn’t sparked a broader altcoin rally. Only 29 of top 100 coins trade above 50-day averages. Senate shelves Clarity Act. Fed decision Wednesday could be the catalyst.
Bitcoin and ether are under mild pressure today but remain above their 50-day moving averages — a bullish sign. The wider market isn’t so fortunate: only 29 of the top 100 crypto assets are trading above their respective 50-day averages, a decisively bearish breadth reading that compares poorly with the Nasdaq 100, where 47 stocks held above that threshold as of Monday. BTC’s relative stability since the selloff stalled near $58,000 on June 1 has yet to spill over into the broader altcoin market. Ether’s recent outperformance offers a sliver of hope for a rotation, but much depends on the Fed’s rate decision due Wednesday. With a September hike now fully priced into futures, analysts say the bar for a hawkish surprise that could meaningfully boost the dollar — and hurt BTC — is high. The Senate’s decision to shelve the Clarity Act in favor of a Russia sanctions bill removes a key near-term catalyst. Stay alert.
U.S. Senate puts off crypto Clarity Act for now as it focuses limited bandwidth elsewhere.
The U.S. Senate has shelved the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, opting to first pursue a package of federal nominations and a Russia sanctions bill honoring the late Senator Lindsey Graham. Majority Leader John Thune began the nominations process Monday and moved to the Russia bill Tuesday, triggering a cloture process that involves multiple steps and waiting periods — limiting the Senate to one disputed bill at a time. The Clarity Act is therefore unlikely to receive a vote before next week, the final days before the August 8 recess begins. Key sticking points remain, chiefly the ethics provision limiting senior officials including President Trump from backing crypto projects — with Democrats arguing the current language doesn’t go far enough. Even if the Senate acts before the recess, the bill must return to the House for another vote, where Republican infighting has complicated progress on other initiatives. If Clarity misses 2026, the next avenues for regulatory legitimacy are the GENIUS Act stablecoin rollout and ongoing policy efforts at the SEC and CFTC.
Inside the CME and CFTC’s battle over onchain perpetual futures.
The largest derivatives exchange in the U.S., CME Group, is at war with its own regulator. Last month CME sued the CFTC and its chairman Mike Selig, challenging his decision to allow Kalshi and Coinbase to list crypto perpetual futures — leveraged, no-expiry contracts that let traders speculate on asset prices indefinitely. CME argues the CFTC mislabeled the products: perps lack an end date, making them swaps under existing law, which carry heavier margin and registration requirements. Both sides now await a federal court ruling that could shape how the U.S. handles a market that generated roughly $60 trillion in non-U.S. volume last year. The CME also attempted to fast-track 24/7 crude oil futures trading, but was blocked by the CFTC — adding another layer to a feud that critics say amounts to a large incumbent using regulation to fend off competition. Kalshi’s debut perp offering exceeded $1 billion in trading volume within its first week. CFTC Chair Selig, currently the sole member of the five-person commission, is pursuing a case-by-case approval approach rather than formal rulemaking — a strategy that mirrors the SEC’s recent policy-statement approach to crypto.
Combined spot and derivatives trading on centralized exchanges rose 13.0% to $4.99T in June — the first monthly increase since January. Gate was the standout performer, with spot volumes surging 50.8% to $66.1B, lifting market share by 1.55% to 5.95% — the largest gain of any tracked exchange.
CoinDesk Disclosure: The information contained in this newsletter, and any information linked through the items contained herein, is not intended to provide sufficient information to form the basis for an investment decision. You should seek additional information regarding the merits and risks of investing in any cryptocurrency or digital assets.
L1.co Disclosure: This material is for informational purposes only, and the content contained herein should not be considered investment advice or a solicitation, offer, or recommendation to sell or buy any asset, strategy, or product. Investing in digital assets involves a high degree of risk, including the loss of principal.
Crypto Daybook Americas: A newsletter from CoinDesk
