Data as of .
ETHE vs MSSE: which tracked its coin?
Over the window both share, ETHE finished 1.2 percentage points ahead of Ether and MSSE 1.3 ahead.
ETFIQ Coin Capture Score: MSSE scores higher
How much of what holding the coin gave did a holder of the fund keep?
A percentile among the 24 spot crypto ETPs with a full year. It is a position in a set, not a rating, and neither end of it is a recommendation. All crypto ETFs ranked by it · How it is computed
The same coin, two trusts
ETHE and MSSE hold the same asset. Both are 1933 Act trusts holding Ether through a custodian, so neither has a portfolio to compare: the whole of each fund is one line. Over the days each has traded, ETHE finished 0.34 of a percentage point ahead of Ether and MSSE 1.1 percentage points ahead, but the two windows are not the same days, so neither figure is set against the other here. That gap is the fee, the custody, the creation and redemption friction and the market’s pricing of the shares, compounded into one figure. ETHE has 2,399 more days of record than MSSE, and a longer record is a longer window over which a cost can show itself.
Performance, window by window
| Window | Total return | The coin over the same days | Difference, percentage points | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ETHE | MSSE | ETHE | MSSE | ETHE | MSSE | |
| 1 month | +35.1% | +35.3% | +34.0% | +34.0% | +1.2 pts | +1.3 pts |
| 3 months | +52.2% | not published | +51.0% | not published | +1.2 pts | not published |
| 6 months | +20.3% | not published | +20.2% | not published | +0.1 pts | not published |
| 1 year | −43.3% | not published | −43.6% | not published | +0.3 pts | not published |
| Since each listed | +644.6% | +32.1% | +1878.7% | +31.1% | −62.4% of its growth | +1.1 pts |
| ETHE Grayscale Ethereum Staking ETF Holds Ether through a custodian, listed Jan 2, 2020 | MSSE Morgan Stanley Ethereum Trust Holds Ether through a custodian, listed Jul 28, 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Sponsor | Grayscale | Morgan Stanley |
| Holds | Ether | Ether |
| Net assets | $1.2bn, balance sheet of Jun 30, 2026 | not read |
| Sponsor’s fee | 2.50% | 0.14% |
| Fee waiver | none | none |
| Staking | the filings say it does | the filings say it does |
| Listed | Jan 2, 2020 | Jul 28, 2026 |
| Days since listing | 2,444 days | 45 days |
| Days it has traded | 1,682 | 33 |
| Days it closed unchanged | 13 | 0 |
| Quoted | on an exchange, every trading day | on an exchange, every trading day |
| Fund returned, 1 year or since launch | −43.3% | +32.1% |
| The coin over the same days | −43.6% | +31.1% |
| Difference, percentage points | +0.3 pts | +1.1 pts |
| Fund returned since it listed | +644.6% | +32.1% |
| Difference since it listed | −62.4% of its growth | +1.1 pts |
| Price | $20.42 | $27.31 |
ETHE in plain words
ETHE holds Ether through a custodian and trades on an exchange, so a holder gets the coin’s return inside a brokerage account rather than a wallet. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026, Ether moved −43.6% and ETHE returned −43.3%. That leaves it 0.34 of a percentage point ahead. That difference is the fee, the custody cost, the friction of creating and redeeming shares in blocks, and whatever the market paid for the shares rather than for the coin, all of it together. It is the only figure on this page the sponsor does not publish itself. ETHE charges 2.50% a year and still finished 0.3% ahead of Ether, which a fee cannot do on its own. Ether is a proof of stake chain, so a fund holding it can stake. ETHE’s own filings say it does (424B3, Aug 7, 2026). It charges 2.50% and finished only −0.3% behind Ether, so staking covered about 2.8% of that fee over these days. A spot trust is not a registered investment company. It files a 10-K rather than an N-PORT, and its holding is one line: the Ether it custodies.
MSSE in plain words
MSSE holds Ether through a custodian and trades on an exchange, so a holder gets the coin’s return inside a brokerage account rather than a wallet. Over the time since it listed to Sep 11, 2026, Ether moved +31.1% and MSSE returned +32.1%. That leaves it 1.1 percentage points ahead. MSSE charges 0.14% a year and still finished 1.1% ahead of Ether, which a fee cannot do on its own. MSSE’s own filings say it does (424B3, Jul 23, 2026). It charges 0.14% and finished only −1.1% behind Ether, so staking covered about 1.2% of that fee over these days.
Questions people ask
- Which tracked Ether more closely, ETHE or MSSE?
- Over the days each has traded, ETHE finished 0.34 of a percentage point ahead of Ether and MSSE 1.1 percentage points ahead. Those are not set against each other here, because the two windows are not the same days, so neither is nearer its coin than the other on this page. Each difference carries the fee, the custody cost, the friction of creating and redeeming shares in blocks and whatever the market paid for the shares rather than for the coin.
- Do ETHE or MSSE pay a staking yield?
- Ether is a proof of stake chain, so staking is possible. Whether either trust stakes, and what the sponsor keeps of it, is a term in its own filings and is read from those rather than assumed.
- What is the difference between ETHE and MSSE?
- Both hold Ether through a custodian and both trade on an exchange, so what separates them is what each costs a holder over time. ETHE is sponsored by Grayscale and listed Jan 2, 2020; MSSE by Morgan Stanley, listed Jul 28, 2026.
- Which is cheaper, ETHE or MSSE?
- ETHE charges 2.50% a year and MSSE charges 0.14%, so MSSE is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Other comparisons
Where these figures came from
ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement.
Cite this page. ETFIQ, ETHE against MSSE, data as of Sep 11, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/crypto/ETHE-MSSE Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.