Direct ownership of Bitcoin, known as self-custody, comes with unique benefits. Investors hold their own private keys, usually stored on hardware wallets like Ledger devices, which serve as secure mediums for protecting digital assets.
This is why many Bitcoin purists, often called “maxis,” repeat the phrase “not your keys, not your coins.” After the collapse of exchanges like Celsius, Voyager and FTX in the 2022 crypto bear market, skepticism toward leaving crypto on centralized exchanges grew for good reason.
The trade-off is that self-custody prioritizes security at the expense of liquidity and convenience. Buying or selling involves a more convoluted process, where mistakes can be costly or irreversible.
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At the same time, limiting yourself to self-custody means missing out on the growing crypto ecosystem, which includes derivatives for hedging or income generation and a rising number of exchange-traded funds (ETFs). These ETFs let you trade crypto as easily as stocks and hold them in tax-sheltered accounts like a Roth IRA.
“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.”
Here are seven of the most interesting cryptocurrency ETFs to buy in 2025:
| ETF | Expense ratio | Market value |
| iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (ticker: IBIT) | 0.25% | $85.4 billion |
| iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHA) | 0.25% | $15.3 billion |
| Hashdex Nasdaq Crypto Index US ETF (NCIQ) | 0.25%* | $817 million |
| Global X Blockchain ETF (BKCH) | 0.50% | $211 million |
| Global X Bitcoin Covered Call ETF (BCCC) | 0.75% | $5.7 million |
| Roundhill Bitcoin Covered Call Strategy ETF (YBTC) | 0.96% | $286 million |
| ProShares Bitcoin ETF (BITO) | 0.95% | $2.7 billion |
*Will increase to 0.5% after Dec. 31, when a temporary waiver expires.
iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT)
“The Trump administration’s continued warming towards crypto has created a seismic shift forward for the industry,” Kline says. “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.”
The poster child for crypto’s increasing involvement with the traditional asset management landscape has been BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF, IBIT. Launched in January 2024, this ETF now commands over $85 billion in assets and trades a 30-day average volume of approximately 42.2 billion shares. IBIT charges a 0.25% expense ratio and also has an options chain for buying and selling calls and puts.
iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHA)
After a brief slump in March, the price of the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, Ethereum, has almost crept back to all-time highs. At around $4,300, the price of Ethereum is now close to its previous peak of $4,699, which was recorded in November 2021. The biggest beneficiary of this surge has been BlackRock’s spot Ethereum ETF, ETHA.
After a slow start following its June 2024 debut, ETHA has since swelled to $15.3 billion in assets. As with IBIT, ETHA uses Coinbase Prime as the custodian for its reserves. The price of this ETF tracks the CME CF Ether-Dollar Reference Rate-New York Variant and generally trades with a minimal 0.03% 30-day median bid-ask spread. ETHA charges the same 0.25% expense ratio as IBIT does.
Hashdex Nasdaq Crypto Index US ETF (NCIQ)
The U.S. cryptocurrency ETF market has evolved to the point where multi-asset products are now possible. A great example is NCIQ, which tracks the Nasdaq Crypto US Settlement Price Index. This ETF holds both Bitcoin and Ethereum at market-cap-weighted allocations. Currently, this means around 82% of the ETF’s portfolio is allocated with Bitcoin, with the remaining 18% allocated to Ethereum.
NCIQ’s benchmark rules are flexible enough to allow additional cryptocurrencies in the future. If the SEC approves spot ETFs for assets like XRP or Solana, the fund could seamlessly fold them in at market-cap weights. The ETF charges a 0.25% management fee, waived down from 0.5% until after Dec. 31. NCIQ currently has $146 million in assets, reducing the risk of closure from lack of inflows.
Global X Blockchain ETF (BKCH)
“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 activity and, consequently, transaction fees.”
In lieu of owning spot cryptocurrency ETFs, investors can use crypto industry equities as a leveraged proxy. Exchanges benefit from trading volumes, miners are directly tied to token prices through block rewards and treasury companies with large Bitcoin holdings often see their valuations swing in tandem with the crypto market. BKCH offers exposure to 27 of these companies for a 0.5% expense ratio.
[See: What’s the Best Cryptocurrency to Buy? 6 Contenders]
Global X Bitcoin Covered Call ETF (BCCC)
Bitcoin doesn’t pay income, but some newer Bitcoin-linked ETFs do. “BCCC provides indirect exposure to Bitcoin while generating weekly income through a systematic covered call strategy,” says Pedro Palandrani, senior vice president and head of product research and development at Global X ETFs. “Think of it as a balanced approach to Bitcoin investing — you get growth potential with income generation.”
BCCC’s portfolio is composed of cash collateral for Cboe Mini Bitcoin U.S. ETF Index options, in addition to 30% in the VanEck Bitcoin ETF (HODL). “By rolling options every week instead of monthly or quarterly, you’re capturing time decay more efficiently,” Palandrani explains. “Options lose value faster as they approach expiration, so this approach potentially harvests more premium over time.”
Roundhill Bitcoin Covered Call Strategy ETF (YBTC)
“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.”
As with BCCC, YBTC is one of few ETFs to pay distributions on a weekly basis. It uses a similar combination of money market funds for collateral for Cboe Bitcoin U.S. ETF Index options, complemented by IBIT options. The ETF currently pays a 54% distribution rate due to Bitcoin’s high volatility. YBTC charges a 0.96% expense ratio and has $280 million in assets.
ProShares Bitcoin ETF (BITO)
YBTC and BCCC generate Bitcoin-linked income using Bitcoin index and spot ETF options, while BITO takes a different approach. Instead, the ETF predominantly concentrates its exposure in CME-traded Bitcoin futures contracts, with a focus on the nearest month. Right now, this means the August 2025 contract. This makes BITO an example of a synthetic cryptocurrency ETF.
This structure does two things for BITO. First, it allows the ETF to capture Bitcoin price movements without directly owning the cryptocurrency, which served as a workaround before spot ETFs were approved. Second, the process of rolling these futures contracts in a bull market often generates large monthly income distributions. This has given BITO a high 50% trailing-12-month yield.
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7 Best Cryptocurrency ETFs to Buy originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 08/21/25: This story was published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
