BlackRock and VanEck adjust fees in new S-1 BTC ETFs filings
BlackRock and VanEck adjust fees in new S-1 BTC ETFs filings
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will vote on Forms 19b-4 in the next few days. On Monday, January 8, some of the Bitcoin ETF applicants filed amended Forms S-1, providing the adjusted fee for their funds.
The spot Bitcoin ETF applicants are competing with each other on the fee schedules for their proposed funds as they seek to gain greater market share immediately following the launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs.
The potential issuers, BlackRock, Fidelity, and VanEck funds, filed amended Forms S-1 with the SEC today, with some of the firms revising their fees and others providing that data in the filings for the first time, Cointelegraph reported.
Leading the pack is Ark/21Shares, which has proposed zero fees for the first six months, or until the fund accumulates $1 billion in assets. After that, the fee will be 0.25%, although it initially offered a 0.8% fee.
BlackRock has the second-highest fee, offering just 0.2% for the first year or until the fund reaches $5 billion in assets. After that, the fee increases to 0.3%.
VanEck offers a flat fee of 0.25%. It will be the lowest of any fund after the grace period.
Fidelity's fee is set at 0.39%, while Galaxy's is set at 0.59%. Meanwhile, Galaxy will also offer a zero fee for the first six months or until it reaches $5 billion in volume. Valkyrie offers a 0.8% fee, Hashdex offers a 0.9% fee, and Grayscale has reduced its fee from 2% to 1.5%.
Ark/21Shares' zero fee is "a very, very low figure," said Bloomberg columnist Katie Greifeld. By offering such low fees, would-be issuers of spot Bitcoin ETFs are already openly competing to gain market share in the first few months after a potential launch. Funds expect that the huge market for new products will largely belong to whoever is first to gain traction and follow through.
VanEck predicts that the new BTC ETF product will see inflows of $1 billion in the first few days, growing to $2.4 billion in the first quarter. And Galaxy estimates that the ETF will see inflows of $14 billion in the first year after launch.
After the final documents are submitted, the SEC will have to decide whether to approve Forms 19b-4 and whether Forms S-1 will go into effect. However, trading could begin as soon as the day after the spot Bitcoin ETFs are approved.
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