Cryptocurrencies have officially moved into the mainstream adoption phase. In 2024, U.S. regulators approved the launch of several spot Bitcoin ETFs and later followed with spot Ethereum ETFs.
Momentum has carried into 2025, with Canada’s provincial Ontario Securities Commission approving a wave of competing spot Solana ETFs. If market conditions and sentiment hold, similar approvals by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission could follow.
Institutional adoption is picking up as well. A major milestone came when BlackRock Inc. (ticker: BLK) added Bitcoin as a component in its model portfolios. These portfolios act as a default investment framework for a wide network of financial advisors, effectively giving their clients the green light to begin allocating to crypto within managed accounts.
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“Looking back at 2016, there was only one option to directly hold Bitcoin within your retirement account,” says Chris Kline, chief operating officer and co-founder of Bitcoin IRA. “Now, there are routes to hold crypto assets in nearly every type of financial account, and the market is better for it.”
Prior to 2024, some researchers were already making a strong case for a cryptocurrency allocation. In 2020, a paper titled “Risks and Returns of Cryptocurrency” recommended an allocation of 1% to Bitcoin even for the most conservative investors, with up to 6% as an optimal target for balanced portfolios.
The reasoning included evidence that crypto returns were not perfectly correlated with stocks or bonds, that the underlying market dynamics were structurally distinct from traditional asset classes, and that a persistent momentum effect could be harnessed.
Far from being a drawback, the high volatility of cryptocurrency was viewed as an advantage. Because of how much it moves, even a small position could deliver a meaningful impact on performance.
For example, from Dec. 1, 2014, to April 24, 2025, a barbell portfolio consisting of 90% three-month Treasury bills and just 10% Bitcoin, rebalanced quarterly, delivered a 12.4% annualized return. That beat the S&P 500’s 11.9% return over the same period. The Bitcoin barbell strategy also achieved a higher Sharpe ratio of 1.19 compared to just 0.61 for the S&P 500, demonstrating better risk-adjusted returns.
Here are seven of the best cryptocurrency ETFs to buy today:
| ETF | Expense ratio |
| iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) | 0.25% |
| Bitwise Crypto Industry Innovators ETF (BITQ) | 0.85% |
| Global X Blockchain & Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITS) | 0.65% |
| Hashdex Nasdaq Crypto Index U.S. ETF (NCIQ) | 0.25%* |
| Calamos Bitcoin 80 Series Structured Alt Protection ETF — April (CBTA) | 0.69% |
| Calamos Bitcoin Structured Alt Protection ETF — January (CBOJ) | 0.69% |
| Roundhill Bitcoin Covered Call Strategy ETF (YBTC) | 0.95% |
*Expense ratio has been temporarily reduced and will be 0.5% after Dec. 31, 2025.
iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT)
“More options are good for investors, and the spot Bitcoin ETFs are a welcome addition to the market,” Kline says. “The massive inflow numbers these investments have shown reinforce that their convenience is helping drive wide-scale adoption.” The standout has been IBIT, which thanks to BlackRock’s brand-name backing has swelled to about $54 billion in assets under management (AUM).
This spot Bitcoin ETF tracks the CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate — New York Variant index as its benchmark. The underlying Bitcoin reserves are custodied with Coinbase Global Inc. (COIN). IBIT’s hallmark is high liquidity, with a 30-day average volume of over 46 million shares traded and a tight 0.02% 30-day median bid-ask spread. The ETF currently charges a 0.25% sponsor fee.
Bitwise Crypto Industry Innovators ETF (BITQ)
“The Trump administration’s continued warming towards crypto has created a seismic shift forward for the industry,” Kline explains. “Strategic appointments of crypto-forward advocates, including Paul Atkins to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission and David Sacks as the inaugural artificial intelligence and crypto czar, underscore a deliberate recalibration of the fintech landscape.”
Some investors prefer gold miners over gold itself because of their potential to offer leveraged exposure to rising commodity prices. The same approach can be applied to crypto through BITQ, which tracks key publicly traded players in the Bitcoin economy, including Strategy Inc. (MSTR), Coinbase and Mara Holdings Inc. (MARA). The ETF charges a 0.85% expense ratio.
Global X Blockchain & Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITS)
“As observed in 2024, blockchain and crypto-related stocks — such as miners and crypto exchanges — typically offer higher beta trades in a favorable crypto market environment or ahead of major events,” says Ido Caspi, research analyst at Global X ETFs. “The influx of institutional capital into Bitcoin, Ethereum and other tokens is also expected to increase crypto activity and, consequently, transaction fees.”
Investors can get a half-and-half approach to cryptocurrency investing with BITS. Roughly half of this ETF is allocated to CME Bitcoin futures. The other half is primarily allocated to the Global X Blockchain ETF (BKCH), which holds a portfolio of 24 cryptocurrency industry notables like Coinbase, Mara Holdings, Core Scientific Inc. (CORZ) and Riot Platforms Inc. (RIOT). BITS charges a 0.65% expense ratio.
Hashdex Nasdaq Crypto Index U.S. ETF (NCIQ)
The next wave of U.S. cryptocurrency ETFs will likely be focused on so-called multi-asset crypto funds, which hold not only Bitcoin but also other major digital assets like Ethereum. The most notable offering today is NCIQ, which has $100 million in AUM and tracks the Nasdaq Crypto U.S. Settlement Price Index. NCIQ is currently made up of approximately 90% Bitcoin and 10% Ethereum.
NCIQ’s benchmark is designed to be flexible. If other cryptocurrencies like Solana are approved for spot ETF exposure, the index can seamlessly incorporate them, allowing NCIQ to hold them as well. This gives Hashdex a strong head-start over competing issuers that currently lack similar products. The ETF charges a 0.5% expense ratio, which is currently waived in half to 0.25% through Dec. 31, 2025.
Calamos Bitcoin 80 Series Structured Alt Protection ETF — April (CBTA)
Some firms known for advanced options-based strategies have released Bitcoin ETFs with risk management capabilities. A great example is CBTA from Calamos Investments. This ETF provides Bitcoin price exposure but limits the maximum loss to 20% for a one-year period starting in April 2025. However, the upside is capped at 51.8%. For most investors, this may be a favorable risk-return trade-off.
“There is a mismatch between the percentage of financial advisors offering exposure to Bitcoin and the percentage of advisors being asked about Bitcoin,” says Matt Kaufman, senior vice president and global head of ETFs at Calamos Investments. “CBTA can fill that gap, giving investment advisors a tool for offering Bitcoin exposure to investors in a way that may better fit a traditional portfolio.”
Calamos Bitcoin Structured Alt Protection ETF — January (CBOJ)
“Traditionally, the high volatility of Bitcoin has made it difficult to apply to a portfolio,” Kaufman explains. “Conventional wisdom has suggested to sell top performing equities and replace that exposure with Bitcoin, but with our structured alt protection ETFs, advisors now have a solution that is more ‘sized’ for traditional equity replacement.” For even more protection, Calamos Investments offers CBOJ.
This ETF follows a similar strategy as CBTA but has a one-year outcome period that started in January 2025. Over this time frame, CBOJ is structured to deliver 100% downside loss protection. However, the upside cap on performance is limited to 11.7%. Still, this ETF has paid off so far as the price of Bitcoin is negative year-to-date. “CBOJ has protected investors against a 26.6% drawdown since inception,” Kaufman notes.
Roundhill Bitcoin Covered Call Strategy ETF (YBTC)
Other advanced cryptocurrency ETFs use options-based strategies not to mitigate risk, but to deliver alternative sources of return. A great example is YBTC, which employs a blend of IBIT call and put options to generate income. Thanks to IBIT and Bitcoin’s high volatility, YBTC is able to deliver a 43% distribution yield. The ETF also pays weekly distributions, which may appeal to income-focused investors.
“YBTC offers the potential for high income, as it generates income through a covered call strategy on Bitcoin,” says Dave Mazza, CEO of Roundhill Investments. “This ETF provides upside exposure to Bitcoin subject to a weekly cap, offering a unique blend of income generation and Bitcoin exposure without the complexities of direct Bitcoin investment or the hassle of trading options directly.”
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7 Best Cryptocurrency ETFs to Buy originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 04/25/25: This story was published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
