Morgan Stanley reveals XRP ETF holdings as Ripple gains ground

Morgan Stanley has disclosed holdings in two XRP-focused exchange-traded funds, becoming one of the latest major financial institutions to report exposure to investment products tied to Ripple’s cryptocurrency.

According to the investment bank’s Form 13F filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for the first quarter of 2026, Morgan Stanley reported owning 1,700 shares of the Volatility Shares XRP ETF and 100 shares of the Grayscale XRP ETF (GXRP).

Although the positions are small relative to the firm’s overall portfolio and its larger investments in Bitcoin and Ethereum products, the filing places Morgan Stanley among a growing list of institutions gaining exposure to XRP through regulated investment vehicles.

The disclosure arrives as the bank continues to expand its presence across the crypto sector. Earlier this month, Morgan Stanley submitted an updated registration statement for a spot Solana exchange-traded fund that would trade under the ticker MSOL and hold SOL directly while staking part of the fund’s assets through third-party providers.

Why is Morgan Stanley increasing its exposure to crypto investment products?

Recent regulatory filings show that Morgan Stanley’s crypto activity now extends beyond Bitcoin-related products. The proposed Morgan Stanley Solana Trust would not only track the price of SOL but would also include staking rewards generated from a portion of the fund’s holdings.

According to the preliminary prospectus, the bank plans to select staking providers based on factors such as reliability, performance, uptime, and slashing history. The filing indicates that staking rewards would be incorporated into the trust’s overall returns.

The XRP ETF disclosure follows Morgan Stanley’s earlier efforts to expand digital asset services. After establishing a presence in the spot Bitcoin ETF market, the bank has also been working to launch Bitcoin and cryptocurrency trading services through its E*Trade platform.

Earlier Morgan Stanley had identified Ripple’s payment infrastructure as a faster alternative to the traditional SWIFT network for cross-border transfers. While the bank has not disclosed a direct XRP position, the latest filing shows exposure to XRP through publicly traded ETF products.

Other financial institutions have reported similar positions in recent months. Regulatory filings have shown that Bank of America and UBS also disclosed modest holdings in XRP-linked ETFs.

Are institutional investors continuing to accumulate XRP exposure?

Fund flow data suggests institutional interest in XRP-related products has remained resilient despite weakness across parts of the digital asset market.

Data from SoSoValue showed that XRP investment products attracted $85.8 million in inflows over the past three weeks. During the same period, Bitcoin and Ethereum funds recorded net outflows of approximately $3.56 billion and $693 million, respectively.

More recently, spot XRP ETFs recorded $1.77 million in net inflows on Thursday. Bitwise’s XRP ETF accounted for the entire amount, while Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs experienced significant redemptions.

In the derivatives market, activity has also remained steady. Data from Deribit showed traders positioning around a $1.60 strike price for XRP options expiring on June 26, while some contracts target a move toward $3.40 by September.

XRP (XRP) price traded near $1.30 at press time after gaining about 4% over the previous 24 hours. The token moved between $1.28 and $1.33 during that period, while trading volume declined by roughly 13%.