According to Blockworks, a bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) is a financial tool that provides investors with exposure to the bitcoin market. Essentially, a bitcoin ETF enables investors to potentially gain (or lose) money based on the daily fluctuations in bitcoin prices. Unlike owning the actual asset, bitcoin ETFs are traded on conventional stock markets or exchanges, catering to mainstream investors who prefer not to directly purchase bitcoin.

There are distinct characteristics setting a Bitcoin ETF from owning a bitcoin apart:

• Ownership: Investors hold shares in a fund that possesses bitcoin, as opposed to owning the bitcoins themselves in a wallet.
• Trading: Unlike the 24/7 availability of the crypto market, traditional markets follow specific open hours. Bitcoin ETFs adhere to these trading schedules.
• Fees: Similar to other ETFs, bitcoin ETFs involve management fees imposed by those overseeing the fund. Conversely, holders of bitcoin only incur fees during transactions.

Advocates of bitcoin ETFs contend that these instruments offer a route for mainstream adoption of bitcoin while mitigating some of the security and technical challenges associated with direct cryptocurrency ownership.

Website | X | Ticker: GBTC | Name: Grayscale Bitcoin Trust | Custodian: Coinbase | Fee: 1.5%

Website | X | Ticker: IBIT | Name: iShares Bitcoin Trust | Custodian: Coinbase | Fee: 0.25%

Website | X | Ticker: FBTC | Name: Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust | Custodian: Self-Custody | Fee: 0.25%

Websites: Ark Invest, 21Shares | X: Ark, 21Shares | Ticker: ARKB | Name: Ark/21 Shares Bitcoin | Custodian: Coinbase | Fee: 0.21%

Website | X | Ticker: HODL | Name: VanEck Bitcoin Trust | Custodian: Gemini | Fee: 0.25%

Website | X | Ticker: BITB | Name: Bitwise Bitcoin Fund | Custodian: Coinbase | Fee: 0.2%

Website | X | Ticker: BTCO | Name: Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF | Custodian: Coinbase | Fee: 0.39%

Website | X | Ticker: BRRR | Name: Valkyrie Bitcoin Fund | Custodian: Coinbase | Fee: 0.25%

Website | X | Ticker: EZBC | Name: Franklin Bitcoin ETF | Custodian: Coinbase | Fee: 0.19%

Website | X | Ticker: BTCW | Name: WisdomTree Bitcoin Fund | Custodian: Coinbase | Fee: 0.3%

Bitwise recently published the bitcoin addresses of its Bitcoin ETF (BITB) holdings. While this is the only officially and publically published ETF address, the addresses for some of the ETF issuers were extracted from Arkham Intelligene. The addresses associated with other ETF issuers were extracted from Hildobby's query.

To assess the BTC holdings of every ETF issuer, the BTC transfers to and from their respective addresses were calculated. It's important to emphasize that in Bitcoin transactions, the input values represent the amounts sent from pubkey addresses, while the output values represent the amounts received by pubkey addresses.

Credit to forgash (jack) for his insights.

Note: to change the time interval for the historical activity charts, use the Interval dropdown (parameter) on top of the page.