VanEck waives all trading fees for its Bitcoin ETF [HODL] from the period starting on March 12, 2024, until March 31, 2025, or until the trust’s assets exceed $1.5 billion. According to the latest update, the sponsor fee charged on assets over $1.5 billion before and after March 31 will be 0.20%. All investors will incur the same sponsor fee, which is the weighted average of those fee rates.
VanEck’s announcement has heated up the ETF race as the fee war rages on. The elimination of fees for one year has generated excitement among investors, given how HODL has been lagging behind the other ETFs. From being once the third-highest BTC fund trailing behind GBTC and IBIT with a daily average of $17 million, trading volume on HODL fell sharply despite lowering its expense ratio from 0.25% to 0.20%.
Currently, the trust fund is experiencing the second-slowest total flow, trailing behind only Wisdom Tree Funds, with a daily inflow approaching $3 million. This is worrisome, particularly in the context of a broader bullish market. Therefore, the decision to reduce fees was deemed necessary and logical under these circumstances.
Previously, another major ETF entity, BlackRock, secured a 12-month fee waiver as opposed to the initially reported 6-month duration. This development unfolded amidst a dynamic landscape of fee competition among Bitcoin ETF filers, as detailed by Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart. In the ongoing fee war, Bitwise Invest claims the lowest long-term fee at 0.24%, closely followed by vaneck_us at 0.25%. Notably, two ETFs offered fee waivers for the initial 6 months, reducing their fees to 0.0%, while BlackRock has opted to waive 0.20%.
VanEck Fee Waiver Amidst Bitcoin Rally
With VanEck’s decision to remove fees, industry analysts are anticipating similar strategies from its counterparts, particularly Grayscale. If the negative trend persists, GBTC is likely to lower its fees.
Continuing its giant strides, Bitcoin broke past the $71,000 level, a move that not only shattered the $69,000 and $70,000 benchmarks but also set a new standard for the cryptocurrency’s potential. With 19,651,000 BTC in circulation, the coin has trounced silver. Bitcoin’s market capitalization stands at 1.4 trillion dollars, compared to silver’s 1.38 trillion dollars.