Bitcoin Climbs 5% as Morgan Stanley Launches MBST Spot BTC
Bitcoin (BTC) is up 5.2% to $71.8k over the past 24h, outperforming a broadly rising market, driven by a geopolitical relief rally following a US-Iran ceasefire.
Morgan Stanley is preparing to debut its spot bitcoin exchange-traded product, the Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust (MBST), with trading scheduled to start on April 8.
The product will be listed on NYSE Arca under the ticker MSBT US, marking the banking giant’s first direct entry into the U.S. spot bitcoin ETF market as an issuer rather than a distributor for third-party funds.
With a focus on lower fees, MBST is structured as an exchange-traded product that holds bitcoin directly, aligning with the architecture seen in recently launched spot bitcoin ETFs.
The move places Morgan Stanley at the forefront among major U.S. banks issuing such a product. With optimism, the crypto market surged by $100 billion in a few hours, as investors’ concerns eased amid a sharp spike in trading volume across key digital assets.
Geopolitical de-escalation, as a temporary US-Iran ceasefire eased risk-off pressure and spurred a broad risk-on rally across assets.
The price surge was also supported by renewed institutional demand, with spot Bitcoin ETFs recording their strongest daily inflow since February at $471 million on April 6.
A two-week suspension of military hostilities between the US and Iran was announced on April 7, 2026. This eased fears of oil supply disruptions (Brent crude fell), reducing inflation expectations and triggering a classic risk-on move across equities, commodities, and crypto.
Concurrent with the ceasefire news, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw $471.32 million in net inflows on April 6, the largest single-day intake since late February.
This indicates institutional buyers were positioned to deploy capital, providing a demand floor. The rally broke Bitcoin out of its recent $66,000–$70,200 range, confirmed by a 49.51% surge in volume.
The move was amplified by a short squeeze, with $234.46 million in BTC liquidations in 24h, 90% of which were short positions. Bitcoin’s surge is a combination of macro relief and institutional buying, amplified by forced short covering.
The cryptocurrency market added roughly $100 billion in value after the U.S. and Iran announced a two-week cease-fire, de-escalating tensions that had previously pressured risk assets.
This macro catalyst triggered immediate volatility, with Bitcoin jumping to nearly $73,000—its highest level in three weeks—before settling just below $72,000. Ethereum Gains as BNP Paribas Launches BTC, ETH-Linked ETNs
