Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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Crypto ETFs

ETH vs MSSE: Tracking, Returns & Fees

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Over the three months to Oct 28, 2026, ETH finished 0.56 of a percentage point ahead of Ether and MSSE 0.09 ahead.

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Net assets: $1.3bn on Jun 30, 2026 for Grayscale Ethereum Staking Mini ETF, beside Morgan Stanley Ethereum Trust.

At a glance
−40.4%
ETH returned, 1 year
+23.6%
MSSE returned, since launch, Jul 28, 2026
+1.0 pts
ETH against Ether, in percentage points
+0.2 pts
MSSE against Ether, in percentage points
ETH · 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 Within a point of Ether
Within a point of EtherETH over 1 year: fund −40.36%, Ether −41.34%, 0.98 pt ahead of Ether. Data to Oct 28, 2026.Ether−41.34%ETH−40.36%0.98 pt ahead of EtherTotal return, 1 year, fund against the coinWithin a point of EtherETH over 1 year: fund −40.36%, Ether −41.34%, 0.98 pt ahead of Ether. Data to Oct 28, 2026.Ether−41.34%ETH−40.36%0.98 pt ahead of EtherTotal return, 1 year

ETH over 1 year: fund −40.36%, Ether −41.34%, 0.98 pt ahead of Ether. Data to Oct 28, 2026.

Data to Oct 28, 2026.
MSSE · since launch to Oct 28, 2026 Within a point of Ether
Within a point of EtherMSSE since launch: fund +23.59%, Ether +23.43%, 0.16 pts ahead of Ether. Data to Oct 28, 2026.Ether+23.43%MSSE+23.59%about level with EtherTotal return, since launch, fund against the coinWithin a point of EtherMSSE since launch: fund +23.59%, Ether +23.43%, 0.16 pts ahead of Ether. Data to Oct 28, 2026.Ether+23.43%MSSE+23.59%about level with EtherTotal return, since launch

MSSE since launch: fund +23.59%, Ether +23.43%, 0.16 pts ahead of Ether. Data to Oct 28, 2026.

Data to Oct 28, 2026.

Pair scorecard

MSSE costs 0.01 points a year less.

ETH vs MSSE: Tracking, Returns & Fees
MeasureETHMSSE
Return
Total return, 1 year−40.4%not published
Against its benchmark
What it tracksEtherEther
Against Ether, same days1.0% ahead of0.2% ahead of
Other funds holding Ether−0.2%, 11 funds
Cost and size
Expense ratio0.15%0.14%
Net assets$1.3bnnot read by ETFIQ
Reports to the SEC on10-K, not N-PORT
Holdings
Holdings in commonnot published
ETFIQ Coin Capture Score · ETH scores higher How much of what holding the coin gave did a holder of the fund keep?

ETH among the 26 spot crypto trusts with a full year

IQ Crypto Score86.5ETH42MSSE

How much of its coin's move it captured, after costs, ranked against 26 spot crypto trusts with a full year and 25 spot crypto trusts listed less than a year. 100 is best. How it is computed

ETH 86.5
1.9, the lowest in this set 98.1, the highest

MSSE among the 25 spot crypto trusts listed less than a year

MSSE 42
2.0, the lowest in this set 98.0, the highest

A percentile among the 26 spot crypto trusts with a full year. MSSE is a percentile among the 25 spot crypto trusts listed less than a year, a different set, so the two marks are not on one scale. Share of the coin's own price growth a holder kept; funds on different coins are ranked together. All crypto ETFs ranked by it →

Method

Side by side

ETH Grayscale Ethereum Staking Mini ETF · Holds Ether through a custodian, first traded Jul 23, 2024 MSSE Morgan Stanley Ethereum Trust · Holds Ether through a custodian, first traded Jul 28, 2026
Holds Ether Ether
Net assets, as filed $1.3bn, balance sheet of Jun 30, 2026 not read
Sponsor’s fee 0.15% 0.14%
Fee waiver none none
Staking the filings say it does the filings say it does
First traded Jul 23, 2024 Jul 28, 2026
Days since its first trade 827 days 92 days
Days it has traded 570 66
Days it closed unchanged 4 0
Quoted on an exchange, every trading day on an exchange, every trading day
Fund returned, 1 year −40.4% +23.6% (since launch, Jul 28, 2026)
The coin over the same days −41.3% +23.4%
Difference, percentage points +1.0 pts +0.2 pts
Fund returned since launch −30.6% +23.6%
Difference since launch +0.9 pts +0.2 pts
Price $22.63 $25.5466
Net assets $1.3bn not read by ETFIQ

As of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

Window by window

Window by window: ETH vs MSSE: Tracking, Returns & Fees
Total returnThe coin over the same daysDifference, percentage points
WindowETHMSSEETHMSSEETHMSSE
1 month−11.2%−11.2%−11.3%−11.3%+0.1 pts+0.1 pts
3 months+26.2%+25.7%+25.6%+25.6%+0.6 pts+0.1 pts
6 months+7.2%–+6.1%–+1.0 pts–
1 year−40.4%–−41.3%–+1.0 pts–
Since each listedNot the same days: ETH Jul 2024 · MSSE Jul 2026−30.6%+23.6%−31.5%+23.4%+0.9 pts+0.2 pts

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The same coin, two trusts

ETH 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, ETH finished 0.98 of a percentage point ahead of Ether and MSSE 0.16 of a percentage point ahead, but the two windows are not the same days, so neither number 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 number. ETH has 735 more days of record than MSSE, and a longer record is a longer window over which a cost can show itself.

Client brief

No client brief for this pair: ETFIQ prints no one-year total return for MSSE and no net assets for MSSE.

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About each fund
ETH

ETH’s own filings say it does (424B3, Aug 7, 2026).

ETH 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 Oct 28, 2026, Ether moved −41.3% and ETH returned −40.4%. That leaves it 0.98 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 number on this page the sponsor does not publish itself. ETH charges 0.15% a year and finished 1.0% 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. What the prices show is that it finished 1.0% ahead of Ether’s own price over the same days, against −0.2% for the other 11 funds holding Ether. After a fee, an in-kind ETP ahead of the asset it holds got there by staking. 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

MSSE’s own filings say it does (424B3, Jul 23, 2026). It charges 0.14% and finished only −0.2% behind Ether, so staking covered about 0.3% of that fee over these days.

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 launch to Oct 28, 2026, Ether moved +23.4% and MSSE returned +23.6%. That leaves it 0.16 of a percentage point ahead. MSSE charges 0.14% a year and finished 0.2% ahead of Ether, which a fee cannot do on its own.

Questions people ask

Which tracked Ether more closely, ETH or MSSE?
Over the days each has traded, ETH finished 0.98 of a percentage point ahead of Ether and MSSE 0.16 of a percentage point 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 ETH 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 ETH 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. ETH is sponsored by Grayscale and first traded Jul 23, 2024; MSSE by Morgan Stanley, first traded Jul 28, 2026.
Which is cheaper, ETH or MSSE?
ETH charges 0.15% a year and MSSE charges 0.14%, so MSSE is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
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Sources and dates

Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.

How this is computed

It is a place in a set, not a rating or a recommendation.

Every number is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested.

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ETFIQ, ETH against MSSE, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/crypto/eth-vs-msse

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