VanEck cut its Bitcoin ETF fee to zero through July. For anyone moving real money, BlackRock's $55B still wins.
A fee of 0% sounds better than 0.25% until execution costs hit. IBIT's 50x asset lead means BlackRock still wins for most active buyers.
CryptoVibe Desk · bitcoin-etf · vaneck · blackrock
- →VanEck's HODL Bitcoin ETF is waiving its fee through July 31, 2026, giving it a 0.25 percentage point cost edge over BlackRock's IBIT right now.
- →IBIT holds roughly 50 times more assets than HODL, which means tighter bid-ask spreads and lower trading costs for active buyers.
- →Watch HODL's assets before July 31, 2026: if they cross $2 billion, the post-waiver five basis point edge becomes a real pitch.
- expense ratio → The annual fee a fund charges, shown as a percentage of your investment: 0.25% means $25 per year on $10,000.
- bid-ask spread → The gap between what buyers and sellers are willing to pay. A tighter spread means less money lost on each trade.
- basis point → One hundredth of a percentage point. Five basis points means 0.05%.
- AUM → Assets under management. It means how much money is sitting in the fund.
VanEck's HODL Bitcoin ETF is charging 0% right now. The waiver covers assets up to $2.5 billion. It runs through July 31, 2026, per Crypto Briefing. BlackRock's IBIT charges 0.25%.
On $10,000 invested, that's $25 a year in fees for IBIT holders. Not nothing. But fees are only half the cost of owning an ETF.
HODL holds about $1.06 billion in assets as of mid-June, according to the same report. IBIT sits between $53 billion and $58 billion. That is roughly 50 times more. A larger fund means tighter bid-ask spreads and deeper order books.
For a desk moving $10 million, one trade can erase the fee edge. The 0% price tag is real. The trading cost is real too, and that's the catch.
Both funds launched in January 2024, when the SEC approved spot Bitcoin ETFs. They started at the same place. IBIT has since built a liquidity lead that a fee waiver alone will not close.
If you're buying Bitcoin in an ETF and holding for years, HODL's current structure is better. Zero beats 0.25% on a five-year hold. If you're rebalancing monthly or moving institutional size, IBIT's depth still wins.
There's also a custodian split. HODL uses Gemini; IBIT uses Coinbase Custody. For risk-sensitive allocators, that is a separate line on the checklist.
The waiver ends when HODL reaches $2.5 billion in assets or hits July 31. At $1.06 billion today, the asset cap is not close. Post-waiver, HODL's standard 0.20% fee still undercuts IBIT by five basis points. Five basis points is real money at scale. But it does not close a 50x gap.
VanEck's fee cut is a clean retail pitch, but the institutional case is custody. HODL has a sharper shot with buyers who prefer Gemini over Coinbase than with desks that need IBIT-level depth.
Watch HODL's assets before July 31, 2026. If they cross $2 billion, the post-waiver five basis point edge becomes a real pitch to cost-sensitive buyers.
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