On Dec. 31, Bitcoin sat at $93,429, having reached a new all-time high of $106,140 on Dec. 17. This capped off a banner year for the largest cryptocurrency, driven by a pro-crypto stance from the incoming Donald Trump administration.
Notable Trump nominees like Paul Atkins to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission and David Sacks as the inaugural artificial intelligence and crypto czar signal a shift toward fostering innovation.
Additionally, the Boosting Innovation, Technology and Competitiveness through Optimized Investment Nationwide (BITCOIN) Act of 2024, introduced by GOP Sen. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, could further set the policy framework for a pro-Bitcoin U.S. government.
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Adding to the momentum, talks of creating a strategic Bitcoin reserve for the U.S. gained traction, drawing inspiration from El Salvador President Nayib Bukele, who made Bitcoin legal tender and has been actively acquiring Bitcoin for the country’s reserves.
Bitcoin’s bullish trajectory was also fueled by the April halving event, which cut the reward for mining new Bitcoin in half. This scheduled reduction in supply often creates upward pressure on prices as demand outpaces the newly available coins.
But even before the halving, January 2024 saw the debut of 11 spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), a groundbreaking moment for the crypto market and the asset management industry. Thanks to this, investors and advisors alike could easily access Bitcoin via a long-established investment vehicle.
Competition among these ETFs was fierce, with many issuers implementing temporary fee waivers to attract inflows. Now, nearly a year later, clear winners have emerged, defined by their high assets under management (AUM) and trading volume.
Here’s an overview of the 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs investors can now buy:
| ETF | Expense ratio |
| iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (ticker: IBIT) | 0.12% to 0.25%* |
| Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF (GBTC) | 1.50% |
| Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB) | 0.20% |
| Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) | 0.25% |
| Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF (BTCO) | 0.25% |
| ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) | 0.21% |
| VanEck Bitcoin Trust (HODL) | 0% to 0.20%** |
| CoinShares Valkyrie Bitcoin Fund (BRRR) | 0.25% |
| WisdomTree Bitcoin Fund (BTCW) | 0.25% |
| Franklin Bitcoin ETF (EZBC) | 0.19% |
| Hashdex Bitcoin ETF (DEFI) | 0.90% |
*Expense ratio is waived to 0.12% until Jan. 11, 2025 for first $5 billion in AUM, then 0.25%.
**Expense ratio is waived to 0% until Jan. 10, 2026 for the first $2.5 billion in AUM, then 0.20%.
iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT)
Bolstered by the BlackRock Inc. (BLK
) brand name, IBIT has grown to over $53 billion in AUM in less than one year. To put this in perspective, it took SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) over 20 years to reach $73 billion in AUM. On average, IBIT trades over 50 million shares over a 30-day period.
IBIT tracks the CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate — New York Variant. The ETF was also one of the first to have options approved, allowing investors to buy and sell calls and puts. The base sponsor fee for IBIT is set at 0.25%, with its fee waiver on the first $5 billion in AUM set to expire on Jan. 11.
Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF (GBTC)
GBTC has been around since 2013 as a closed-end fund. After it was converted to an ETF, it suffered high outflows due to a pricey 1.5% expense ratio as investors flocked to cheaper competitors. As a result, the AUM of GBTC has fallen to $20 billion, making it smaller than the much newer IBIT.
However, Grayscale has addressed this issue by spinning off 10% of GBTC’s assets into a lower-priced companion fund, called the Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust ETF (BTC). This ETF charges a much lower 0.15% sponsor fee and is fairly well-capitalized, with $3.6 billion in AUM.
Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB)
The spot Bitcoin ETF race was characterized by traditional asset managers like BlackRock facing off against dedicated digital asset specialists like Grayscale. If you prefer to invest with the latter, consider BITB, which is run by Bitwise. This ETF charges a 0.2% sponsor fee and has $3.9 billion in AUM.
BITB’s hallmark is transparency. On its webpage, Bitwise discloses on a daily basis how much Bitcoin is held in trust, the amount of Bitcoin owned per share and, crucially, its Bitcoin wallet addresses. This allows the public to verify the ETF’s holdings and track transactions, a first for the ETF industry.
Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC)
Prefer to buy your spot Bitcoin ETF from a traditional asset manager? If you’re already investing on Fidelity’s brokerage platform or own a few Fidelity mutual funds, FBTC offers a seamless option. This ETF charges a 0.25% expense ratio and has attracted $19.2 billion in AUM so far.
As with many of the other spot Bitcoin ETFs and older gold ETFs, FBTC is structured as a grantor trust. It’s benchmarked to the Fidelity Bitcoin Reference Rate, a proprietary benchmark. This ETF has been highly popular among professional investors, with its webpage disclosing 33.9% institutional ownership.
Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF (BTCO)
“In addition to offering a simpler, more familiar access point to Bitcoin, BTCO brings together the unparalleled expertise of a veteran ETF provider like Invesco and an established crypto native like Galaxy,” says Kathy Kriskey, commodity strategist at Invesco.
If you’re partial to Invesco ETFs such as the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ), BTCO could be a good high-risk addition to your portfolio. This ETF trades on the CBOE BZX exchange and tracks the Lukka Prime Reference Rate. BTCO charges a 0.25% expense ratio and has $757 million in AUM.
ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB)
ARK Invest and its CEO, Cathie Wood, saw strong performance with their lineup of actively managed, thematic growth ETFs during the COVID-era bull market. Now, ARK Invest has partnered with digital assets specialist 21Shares to offer ARKB for spot Bitcoin exposure. The ETF currently has $4.8 billion in AUM.
ARKB also tracks the CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate — New York Variant, the same benchmark used by IBIT. Like the other Bitcoin ETFs, its reserves are kept in “cold storage” with a custodian, with amounts moved to a “hot wallet” as needed for ETF creation or redemption. It charges a 0.21% expense ratio.
[SEE: 8 Ways to Diversify Your Crypto Portfolio and Limit Risk]
VanEck Bitcoin Trust (HODL)
HODL’s ticker is an Easter egg. The term originated in December 2013 when a user named “GameKyuub” posted a thread on the cryptocurrency forum Bitcointalk titled, “I AM HODLING.” The post became a meme and a rallying cry for Bitcoin investors committed to staying the course through volatility.
HODL has one of the most aggressive fee waivers out of all the 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs. Until Jan. 10, 2026, the entirety of its 0.20% expense ratio is being waived on the first $2.5 billion in AUM. Given that the ETF’s AUM is currently $1.3 billion, this makes HODL effectively free to invest in.
CoinShares Valkyrie Bitcoin Fund (BRRR)
In ETF marketing, a catchy ticker can be a valuable asset, and the BRRR is no exception. The ticker plays on the popular “money printer go brrrr” meme, which humorously critiques the Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing policies — a practice that crypto enthusiasts criticize as a key flaw of fiat currencies.
BRRR has attracted $862 million in AUM so far — a decent pace when compared to most newly launched ETFs, but one that pales in comparison to spot Bitcoin ETFs like IBIT and BITB. It charges a pretty standard 0.25% sponsor fee and also tracks the CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate — New York Variant.
WisdomTree Bitcoin Fund (BTCW)
WisdomTree is best known for its dividend funds and its approach to fundamental indexing, which prioritizes factors like earnings over market-cap weighting. This strategy is influenced by Jeremy Siegel, author of “Stocks for the Long Run,” who serves as a senior economist and advisor to WisdomTree.
However, the firm also offers spot Bitcoin exposure now thanks to BTCW. The ETF charges a 0.25% expense ratio and currently has $376 million in AUM, making it one of the smaller ETFs in the spot Bitcoin segment. Unlike most of the previous spot Bitcoin ETFs, BTCW trades on the BATS exchange.
Franklin Bitcoin ETF (EZBC)
Franklin Templeton is well-known in the ETF space for its large lineup of international equity ETFs. Many of these funds come with lower expense ratios than competitors and offer exposure to exotic emerging markets such as Brazil, Hong Kong, India, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Taiwan.
Now, the firm has expanded to spot Bitcoin ETFs via EZBC. The ticker sounds like “easy Bitcoin,” which is appropriate given that Franklin Templeton touts “simplified access” as one of EZBC’s main selling points. The ETF charges a 0.19% sponsor fee and has $743 million in AUM.
Hashdex Bitcoin ETF (DEFI)
A notable underperformer in the spot Bitcoin ETF race is DEFI, which has only amassed $15 million in assets under management (AUM). This is well below the $50 million threshold typically needed for long-term financial viability. Part of its struggle stems from entering the game late.
Originally launched on Sep. 15, 2024, as a Bitcoin futures ETF, DEFI only converted to a spot structure on March 27, tracking the Nasdaq Bitcoin Reference Price — Settlement Index. Adding to its uphill battle is a high 0.9% expense ratio, significantly steeper than most competitors aside from GBTC.
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11 Spot Bitcoin ETFs to Buy in 2025 originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 01/03/25: This story was previously published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
