Investment bank Morgan Stanley stands to gain from launching its own ETFs, even if their returns are modest. This view was expressed by Jeff Park, investment director at ProCap.

heres what most people are missing about why Morgan Stanley launching Bitcoin ETF is the most bullish thing ever-

1) it means the market is MUCH bigger than even crypto professionals anticipated, especially to reach NEW customers. It is unheard of for a vanilla ETF product to…

— Jeff Park (@dgt10011) January 7, 2026

On January 6, Morgan Stanley filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to launch two spot ETFs. One fund will track the price of Bitcoin, while the other will focus on Solana. If approved, over 19 million clients of the bank's wealth management division will gain access to these products.

The expert noted that the financial institution is betting on long-term branding advantages, not just capital inflows.

Park believes that having a spot Bitcoin ETF signals the "foresight and boldness" of the asset manager. This creates an image of a progressive company, which is particularly important in the competition for talented employees.

"This is a positive external factor that will aid in recruiting top specialists against competitors," emphasized the CIO of ProCap.

He also highlighted Morgan Stanley's plans to monetize its brokerage division, ETRADE, through partnerships in tokenization and cryptocurrency trading. The digital asset market has proven to be significantly larger than industry professionals had anticipated, the expert added.

Morningstar analyst Brian Armor speculated that Morgan Stanley's "unexpected" move aims to transition existing clients into its own funds.

"The bank's entry into the crypto ETF sector will add legitimacy to the market, and others may follow suit," Armor stated in a comment to Reuters.

ETF Inflows

At the beginning of 2026, the cryptocurrency market showed resilience due to renewed inflows into spot ETFs. However, fundamental on-chain indicators continue to decline, indicating hidden weakness in demand.

Bitcoin ended 2025 consolidating below the resistance level of $92,000. Prices stabilized thanks to institutional flows amid low holiday liquidity. On January 5, the leading cryptocurrency traded around $93,000, while Ethereum held steady near $3,200.

According to BRN, from December 29 to January 2, net inflows into spot Bitcoin ETFs totaled $459 million on a trading volume of about $14 billion. Ethereum funds attracted $161 million, while XRP-based products garnered $43 million. This trend reversal occurred after prolonged outflows in December.

Timothy Misir, head of research at BRN, noted that the growth is driven by external capital, while internal market resources are depleted.

"Optimism has returned, but investor confidence remains conditional," the analyst emphasized.

The fundamental picture contradicts price dynamics. At the end of December, the 30-day change in Bitcoin's realized capitalization turned negative, breaking one of the longest capital inflow periods in history. Long-term holders began to accelerate loss-taking despite relatively stable prices.

Misir described the situation as typical for a late-stage cycle: volatility decreases, and the main stress factor becomes time. Investors are leaving the market not out of fear, but due to exhaustion.

Analysts at QCP Capital also remain cautious. Despite positive signals in the options market and interest in long positions, liquidity remains fragile. Traders' attention has shifted from political news (U.S. operations in Venezuela) to macroeconomic data that will shape future rate expectations.

Spot XRP ETFs

American spot ETFs based on XRP recorded their first negative balance at the end of a trading day, breaking a 36-day inflow streak.

Source: SoSoValue.

On January 7, the total outflow from five funds amounted to $40.8 million. Only the TOXR product from 21Shares showed negative dynamics, with investors withdrawing $47.25 million. Funds from Canary, Bitwise, and Grayscale recorded minor inflows of around $2 million.

BTC Markets analyst Rachel Lucas described the first outflow as a "notable shift," but pointed out its modest scale—less than 3% of total inflows. The expert attributed the situation to profit-taking after XRP's rise from $1.8 to $2.4 and an overall market correction.

Lucas emphasized that fundamental indicators remain strong: exchange reserves are at lows, and transaction volumes are high. With renewed inflows, the asset could test the $3 mark.

Recall that in October, Morgan Stanley analysts advised financial consultants and clients to include cryptocurrencies in multi-asset portfolios.