Morgan Stanley's Bitcoin ETF Attracts $34M on First Day
Thursday's session picks up where Wednesday's ceasefire rally left off, with bitcoin(BTC-USD)trading near $71,641 and sitting roughly $360 below the $72,000 level that CoinGlass estimates would trigger $2.5B in cascading short liquidations. The derivatives coil arrives as Wall Street's institutional infrastructure build-out accelerates: Morgan Stanley's(MS)spot bitcoin ETF reported first-day results and Bitmine Immersion Technologies(BMNR)is making its debut on the NYSE main board. Stay up on the crypto news that matters with "Crypto Currents," daily from The Fly. Join us at 2 PM ET for your essential briefing on the fast-moving world of cryptocurrency on FlyCast radio.MSBT LOGS $34M IN DAY-ONE INFLOWS AS WALL STREET'S BITCOIN EMBRACE HOLDS:, making it the first such product from a major Wall Street bank and the cheapest in the market at a 0.14% expense ratio.The broader spot bitcoin ETF complex saw $124.5M leave incumbent funds simultaneously, meaning MSBT attracted fresh capital as the cohort faced net outflows.Bloomberg's April 9 newsletterframes the institutional picture more broadly, noting that Wall Street's structural embrace of bitcoin remains intact even as speculative retail enthusiasm has cooled. The newsletter's framing carries weight for equity investors tracking crypto-adjacent names: sustained institutional demand at the infrastructure layer, custody, settlement, and ETF distribution, can support revenue lines at firms like Coinbase even during periods of subdued retail activity.BITMINE UPLISTS TO NYSE MAIN BOARD AND EXPANDS BUYBACK TO $4B:Bitmine Immersion Technologies, the ether(ETH-USD)treasury company chaired by Fundstrat's Tom Lee, began trading on the NYSE main board Thursday after transferring from NYSE American.According to a company release, the company simultaneously expanded its share repurchase authorization from $1B to $4B, described as one of the ten largest buyback programs announced in 2026 per Fundstrat, while holding approximately 4.803M ether, representing roughly 3.98% of total ether supply, with total crypto and cash holdings of $11.4B. The NYSE uplisting is being closely watched as a benchmark for whether an ether treasury strategy can attract mainstream institutional capital at the same scale that Strategy'sbitcoin model has for BTC-denominated proxies.DERIVATIVES COIL TIGHTENS; HYPERLIQUID OIL VOLUME TOPS BITCOIN FOR FIRST TIME:, bitcoin futures open interest climbed 7.01% in 24 hours to $52.04B with Binance leading at $8.73B, signaling that leverage is re-accumulating rapidly in the aftermath of Wednesday's $427M short squeeze. Ether futures open interest surged 11.93% in the same window to $31.62B, creating a fragile leverage stack with an estimated $810M in long liquidations clustered below $1,952, directly relevant to spot ether ETF AUM mechanics and Coinbase's derivatives revenue line.On Hyperliquid, combined WTI and Brent crude perpetuals hit $2.45B in 24-hour volume on Thursday, surpassing bitcoin perpetuals at $2.29B on that platform for the first time, a result reflecting macro traders routing commodity exposure through on-chain perpetual DEXs on a day when oil crashed more than 16% following the U.S.-Iran ceasefire, and positioning Hyperliquid's HYPE(HYPE-USD)token as a live barometer of traditional finance crossover demand for on-chain derivatives infrastructure.BITMEX REPORTS 500%+ SURGE IN TOKENIZED COMMODITY AND EQUITY PERPETUALS:shows that BitMEX's Q1 2026 derivatives report found that tokenized commodity perpetuals surged more than 500% quarter-over-quarter while tokenized equity perpetuals grew 900% to $4.9B in weekly volume, driven by traditional finance crossover demand for on-chain exposure to conventional asset classes. The data provides a quantitative frame for the structural shift that Hyperliquid's oil volume milestone illustrates: traditional financial instruments are migrating to on-chain perpetual venues at an accelerating rate, with direct competitive implications for centralized exchange operators like Coinbase and Bullish(BLSH).BITCOIN DEPOT DISCLOSES $3.6M HACK; BITCOIN BANCORP LAUNCHES CALIFORNIA ATM ROLLOUT:Bitcoin Depot(BTM), operator of approximately 25,000 bitcoin ATMs across North America,disclosed that attackers breached its IT systems on March 23, stealing 50.9 BTC worth approximately $3.665Mby compromising digital asset settlement account credentials before being locked out, at least the company's second known security event following a 2023 user data breach affecting 58,000 customers. The disclosure arrives on the same day that Bitcoin Bancorpannounced an expansion into the space. Bitcoin Bancorp, one of only three publicly traded bitcoin ATM operators and holder of foundational bitcoin ATM patents, launched the initial Southern California deployment of its licensed ATM network as the next phase of its national expansion strategy.SOLUNA COMMISSIONS 48MW PROJECT KATI; BITGO POWERS ANDX U.S. LAUNCH:Soluna Holdings(SLNH)reported that its Project Kati 1 K1A Galaxy facility, a 48 MW bitcoin hosting and mining site, was fully commissioned ahead of schedule in March, while the company is in active hyperscaler negotiations for the AI and HPC-focused Project Kati 2, with its total development pipeline now surpassing 4.3 gigawatts.According to a press release, BitGo(BTGO)announced its OCC-regulated Crypto-as-a-Service platform now underpins the U.S. launch of AndX, an AI-native Web3 trading platform, providing custody, compliance, and settlement infrastructure with $250M insurance coverage across all 50 states.GREENLANE HOLDS 32% OF BERA SUPPLY AND AUTHORIZES $2M BUYBACK:, Greenlane Holdings(GNLN)reported holding 77.9M BERA tokens, representing approximately 32% of the circulating supply of the Berachain native asset as of April 7, with 50M tokens deployed to validators to generate staking yield, while its board simultaneously authorized a new $2M common stock buyback. Greenlane's concentrated BERA position makes it one of the most direct public-market proxies for the Berachain ecosystem, and the buyback authorization mirrors the capital return discipline shown by Empery Digital(EMPD)the prior session, contrasting with the equity issuance posture of most smaller crypto-adjacent names.BITWISE LISTS HYPERLIQUID STAKING ETP IN FRANKFURT; BLACKROCK ETF WALLETS MOVE $49M TO COINBASE:, Bitwise launched the Bitwise Hyperliquid Staking ETP under the ticker symbol 'BHYP' on Deutsche Börse Xetra in Frankfurt, offering regulated access to the HYPE token with an expected net staking yield of approximately 1% and a total expense ratio of 0.85%, marking Bitwise's seventh staking ETP; on-chain data also shows a purchase of 67,648 HYPE tokens for approximately $2.6M by large wallets flagged byLookonchainWednesday, confirming active accumulation. Separately,Arkham Intelligence data showedBlackRock'sIBIT and ETHA ETF wallets transferred 416.65 BTC and 8,513 ETH, a combined value of approximately $49M, to Coinbase Prime during Wednesday's session, confirming that Coinbase's custody and settlement operations are handling significant flow mechanics on volatile sessions and supporting the revenue case for Coinbase independent of spot trading volumes.PRICE ACTION:As of time of writing, bitcoin was trading at $71,490.96, while ether was trading at $2,190.08,.
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- Earnings Beat: CVS Health reported an adjusted EPS of $2.57 for Q1 2026, surpassing Morgan Stanley's estimate of $2.17, indicating effective medical cost management and boosting investor confidence.
- Significant Revenue Growth: Total revenues reached $100.4 billion, a 6.2% year-over-year increase, reflecting the company's competitive position in the market and laying a foundation for future growth.
- Improved Medical Benefit Ratio: The medical benefit ratio stood at 84.6%, significantly below Morgan Stanley's estimate of 86.0%, demonstrating CVS's superior performance in managing medical costs, enhancing its appeal in the managed care sector.
- Guidance Raise: CVS raised its full-year adjusted EPS guidance to $7.30 to $7.50 and increased cash flow guidance to at least $9.5 billion, showcasing the company's confidence in future performance and a positive market outlook.
- Baby Boutique Rollout: Target has launched baby boutiques in approximately 200 stores, allowing customers to experience high-end brands like UPPAbaby firsthand, aiming to attract busy family customers and enhance market share.
- Market Share Challenges: Despite holding a 17.6% share in the baby products market, Target has seen a decline compared to Walmart's 27% and Amazon's 24.4%, indicating increased competitive pressure.
- Sales Growth Expectations: Target anticipates a year-over-year net sales increase of about 2% this year, with growth expected in every quarter, signaling efforts to reverse the sales slump experienced over the past four quarters.
- Strategic Investment Plan: Target plans to invest approximately $5 billion in capital expenditures this fiscal year to improve store experiences and product quality, aiming to enhance customer loyalty and address competitive challenges.
- Stable Market Share: Nvidia maintained an 86% market share in AI accelerator sales in 2025, demonstrating its strong competitive position despite ASIC competition, as its GPUs remain the industry standard in AI workloads.
- Surge in Capital Expenditures: Wall Street analysts now forecast that capital expenditures among the top five hyperscalers will increase nearly 80% to $805 billion in 2026, exceeding previous estimates, which will directly boost demand for Nvidia's GPUs.
- Future Valuation Potential: Brad Gerstner, founder of Altimeter Capital, believes Nvidia is severely undervalued and could reach a market cap of $10 trillion, implying about 100% upside, reflecting the market's underestimation of AI infrastructure demand.
- Rapid Product Iteration: Nvidia plans to shorten its GPU update cycle to 12-18 months, compared to the typical 3-5 years for custom chips, a strategy that will help maintain its technological edge and further solidify its market position in the coming years.
- Stable Market Share: Nvidia maintains an 86% market share in AI accelerator sales for 2025, demonstrating its strong competitive position in the AI sector despite customers gradually adopting ASICs, which have not dented its dominance.
- Surge in Capital Expenditure: Morgan Stanley forecasts that capital expenditures among the top five hyperscalers will increase nearly 80% to $805 billion by 2026, which will further drive demand for Nvidia's GPUs and solidify its status as the industry standard.
- Optimistic Future Valuation: Altimeter Capital's CEO Brad Gerstner believes Nvidia will become the first $10 trillion company, while I/O Fund's Beth Kindig predicts a market cap of $20 trillion by 2030, indicating significant upside potential for shareholders.
- Accelerated Technology Update Cycle: Nvidia plans to shorten its GPU update cycle to 12-18 months, compared to competitors' 3-5 year cycles, a strategy that will help it maintain a leading edge in a rapidly evolving market and enhance its market appeal.
- Stock Price Volatility: NuScale Power's stock peaked at $57.42 last year but has since plummeted by as much as 82%, currently trading around $12, reflecting market concerns about its future viability.
- Historical Recovery Potential: A Morgan Stanley study found that 49% of stocks experiencing an 80% to 85% drawdown managed to recover to previous peaks, averaging 4.2 years for recovery, offering a glimmer of hope for NuScale investors, albeit with significant risk.
- Industry Risk Warning: The study highlights that if NuScale were to face bankruptcy, the historical recovery patterns would not apply, necessitating careful assessment of its financial health by investors.
- Technological Development Outlook: Although small modular reactors can be deployed faster than traditional nuclear reactors, the process still takes about seven years, posing execution risks; however, the potential market returns may appeal to risk-tolerant investors.
- Stock Price Plunge: NuScale Power's stock has plummeted over 80% from its October peak of $57.42, currently trading around $12, reflecting significant market concerns regarding its future prospects and operational viability.
- Historical Recovery Data: A study by Morgan Stanley indicates that 49% of stocks experiencing an 80% to 85% drawdown eventually recover to their previous peak, taking an average of 4.2 years, providing a glimmer of hope for NuScale's potential rebound.
- Funding Risks and Deployment Timeline: Despite the encouraging historical data, NuScale faces real risks including potential funding shortfalls and a lengthy seven-year deployment timeline for its small modular reactors, which could exacerbate execution risks and hinder its competitive position.
- Cautious Investor Sentiment: While NuScale holds promise in small modular reactor technology, its absence from The Motley Fool's list of top recommended stocks suggests that investors should approach with caution, particularly in light of increasing market volatility and uncertainty.











