19 Bitcoin ETFs and Their Fees, Promotions and Holdings
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On Wednesday, Jan. 10, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the first-ever spot Bitcoin ETFs, including those from Fidelity, BlackRock and Invesco. In total, the SEC approved 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs, and 10 of them started trading on Thursday, Jan. 11.
What is a spot Bitcoin ETF?
A spot Bitcoin ETF is an exchange-traded fund — a highly liquid fund that changes price throughout the trading day, just like a stock — that directly tracks the price of Bitcoin, primarily by holding a large amount of the cryptocurrency itself. It’s similar to a spot gold ETF, which holds physical gold bullion on behalf of its shareholders.
As the first spot Bitcoin ETFs, the recently approved ETFs are the first cryptocurrency funds to trade on a major exchange and hold Bitcoin directly.
» See our list of the best brokers for ETF investing.
Top 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs by fee
Below is a list of the approved ETFs and their fees, in order from lowest to highest fee:
ETF name & symbol | Fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Franklin Templeton Digital Holdings Trust (EZBC) | 0.19% | Fee waived until Aug. 2, 2024 or first $10 billion in fund assets, whichever comes first. |
Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB) | 0.20% | Fee waived for first six months of trading or first $1 billion in fund assets, whichever comes first. |
VanEck Bitcoin Trust (HODL) | 0.20% | Fee waived until Mar. 31, 2025 or first $1.5 billion in fund assets, whichever comes first. |
Ark 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) | 0.21% | Fee waived for first six months of trading or first $1 billion in fund assets, whichever comes first. |
iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) | 0.25% | Fee reduced to 0.12% for first 12 months of trading or first $5 billion in fund assets, whichever comes first. |
Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) | 0.25% | Fee waived until Aug. 1, 2024. |
WisdomTree Bitcoin Fund (BTCW) | 0.25% | Fee waived for first six months of trading or first $1 billion in fund assets, whichever comes first. |
Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF (BTCO) | 0.25% | Fee waived for first six months of trading or first $5 billion in fund assets, whichever comes first. |
Valkyrie Bitcoin Fund (BRRR) | 0.25% | Fee waived for first three months of trading. |
Hashdex Bitcoin ETF (DEFI) | 0.90% | N/A. |
Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) | 1.50% | N/A. |
Sources: Fund websites. Data is current as of Apr. 9, 2024 and intended for informational purposes, not for trading purposes.
It's worth noting that although spot Bitcoin ETFs are designed to track the price of Bitcoin directly by holding it, there is no guarantee that they will deliver exactly the same returns as the cryptocurrency itself.
» Ready to get started? Learn how and where to buy the new spot Bitcoin ETFs
But wait — weren’t there already Bitcoin ETFs on the market?
Yes and no. There were already crypto-related ETFs and trusts out there, but there has never been a spot Bitcoin ETF on the market before the Jan. 2024 approval.
What is a Bitcoin strategy ETF?
Bitcoin strategy ETFs attempt to track the price of Bitcoin indirectly. Many started trading well before the first spot Bitcoin ETF approvals, and they're still available today.
Some invest in Bitcoin futures, while others invest in Bitcoin mining stocks. Due to the indirect nature of these investments, these funds' returns are especially prone to deviating from the returns of Bitcoin.
Top 8 Bitcoin strategy ETFs by fee
Below is a list of Bitcoin strategy ETFs and their fees, in order from lowest to highest fee:
Fund name & symbol | Fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Global X Blockchain & Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITS) | 0.65% | Mostly invested in Bitcoin futures. Also invested in the Global X Blockchain ETF (BKCH). |
Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF (WGMI) | 0.75% | Invested in Bitcoin mining stocks. |
Bitwise Bitcoin Strategy Optimum Roll ETF (BITC) | 0.92% | Invested in Bitcoin futures. Fee reduced to 0.85% until Feb. 6, 2025. |
ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) | 0.95% | Invested in Bitcoin futures. |
Bitwise Bitcoin and Ether Equal Weight Strategy ETF (BTOP) | 0.95% | Invested in Bitcoin futures. Fee reduced to 0.85% until Oct. 2, 2025. |
Valkyrie Bitcoin and Ether Strategy ETF (BTF) | 1.24% | Invested in Bitcoin and Ether futures. |
ProShares Bitcoin & Ether Market Cap Weight Strategy ETF (BETH) | 1.33% | Invested in Bitcoin and Ether futures. Fee reduced to 0.95% until Oct. 31, 2024. |
ProShares Bitcoin & Ether Equal Weight Strategy ETF (BETE) | 1.33% | Invested in Bitcoin and Ether futures. Fee reduced to 0.95% until Oct. 31, 2024. |
Sources: Fund websites. Data is current as of Apr. 9, 2024 and is intended for informational purposes, not for trading purposes. These funds all have more than 50% of their non-cash-equivalent holdings invested in Bitcoin futures or Bitcoin mining stocks.
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The Bitcoin ETF price war
Ten different would-be spot Bitcoin ETF issuers filed forms with the SEC in January, disclosing the fees they intend to charge. Some were launching new funds, while others were changing existing Bitcoin strategy ETFs into spot Bitcoin ETFs.
The flood of SEC filings — which continued until hours before the SEC's approval announcement, and may continue still — reflected an ongoing price war between issuers. Many Bitcoin ETFs — both spot Bitcoin ETFs and Bitcoin strategy ETFs — are slashing their fees and offering limited-time promotional fee waivers.
Do spot Bitcoin ETFs have custodianship risk?
Most spot Bitcoin ETFs rely on a third-party custodian to actually store the Bitcoin they hold — much like how spot gold ETFs often keep their physical gold holdings in the vault of a third-party custodian.
Eight out of the 10 currently-trading spot Bitcoin ETFs use Coinbase (COIN) as their Bitcoin custodian. The only exceptions are the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC), which uses Fidelity itself as a custodian, and the VanEck Bitcoin Trust (HODL), which uses Gemini.
Coinbase's dominance in Bitcoin ETF custodianship has created concerns about custodianship risk. If Coinbase ran into severe financial trouble in the future — for example, due to a cyberattack, a government penalty, or a decline in its revenue — would the holdings of Bitcoin ETFs be safe?
There are mechanisms by which ETFs — and investors themselves — could recover their holdings in the event of a Coinbase bankruptcy, but they wouldn't necessarily be instant or automatic. So custodianship risk may be something to consider while shopping for a spot Bitcoin ETF.
What do the approvals mean for Bitcoin?
Peter Eberle, the chief investment officer of California-based crypto investment firm Castle Funds, said in an email interview that the approval would have a positive impact on the price of bitcoin.
“Many investors can’t currently get exposure. For example, many people with 401(k)s, IRAs and similar accounts can’t easily access Bitcoin. These investors will be able to allocate funds going forward. This will drive demand in coming years,” Eberle said.
However, Eberle also cautioned that bullish sentiment could be overblown, because the ETF approvals do not necessarily guarantee billions of dollars of inflows on the first day of trading.
"Expectations might be too bullish for a short-term impact,” he said.
» See our list of the best crypto exchanges and apps
What do the approvals mean for other crypto investments?
“Crypto tokens are highly correlated. If BTC does make a big price move, then other tokens will also participate to some degree. It will also make it likely that we will see an ETH ETF, which could provide significant tailwinds for ETH,” Eberle said, referring to Bitcoin by its ticker symbol “BTC” and Ethereum by its ticker symbol “ETH.”
Eberle said he thinks that ETF approvals will likely be limited to Bitcoin and Ethereum for the time being.
“BTC and ETH ETFs seem the most likely candidates, since BTC and ETH already trade as commodities on the CME,” he said, referring to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, a futures exchange. “The other tokens have greater hurdles to overcome, as the SEC still considers many to be unregistered securities.”
Disclosure: The author and editor owned Bitcoin at the time of publication.
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