Bitcoin ETF Fee Drag Calculator
Every other fee calculator shows dollars. This one shows the bitcoin.
8 funds ▸ 3 × 10-Q + DECAY5 × FILED · snapshot 2026-08-19 · ≤ filed max ✓
10-Q + DECAY · 07-30
- Source
- iShares basket disclosure anchor + exact fee decay
- As of
- 2026-07-30
- Snapshot refreshed
- 2026-08-19
≤ filed maximum ✓ — a fee-only trust's ratio can only decline between filings.
10-Q + DECAY · 06-30
- Source
- SEC 10-Q filed anchor + exact fee decay
- As of
- 2026-06-30
- Snapshot refreshed
- 2026-08-19
≤ filed maximum ✓ — a fee-only trust's ratio can only decline between filings.
FILED · 08-18
- Source
- Grayscale fund page — Bitcoin per Share
- As of
- 2026-08-18
- Snapshot refreshed
- 2026-08-19
≤ filed maximum ✓ — a fee-only trust's ratio can only decline between filings.
FILED · 08-18
- Source
- Grayscale fund page — Bitcoin per Share
- As of
- 2026-08-18
- Snapshot refreshed
- 2026-08-19
≤ filed maximum ✓ — a fee-only trust's ratio can only decline between filings.
FILED · 08-17
- Source
- Bitwise trust holdings (bitbetf.com)
- As of
- 2026-08-17
- Snapshot refreshed
- 2026-08-19
≤ filed maximum ✓ — a fee-only trust's ratio can only decline between filings.
FILED · 08-19
- Source
- ARK 21Shares daily holdings CSV
- As of
- 2026-08-19
- Snapshot refreshed
- 2026-08-19
≤ filed maximum ✓ — a fee-only trust's ratio can only decline between filings.
FILED · 08-18
- Source
- VanEck published NAV ÷ BTC 4pm-ET fixing window
- As of
- 2026-08-18
- Snapshot refreshed
- 2026-08-19
≤ filed maximum ✓ — a fee-only trust's ratio can only decline between filings.
10-Q + DECAY · 06-30
- Source
- SEC 10-Q filed anchor + exact fee decay
- As of
- 2026-06-30
- Snapshot refreshed
- 2026-08-19
≤ filed maximum ✓ — a fee-only trust's ratio can only decline between filings.
An expense ratio is denominated in the asset, not in dollars: the trust sells bitcoin to pay it, every day, compounding. Enter a position and a holding period to see exactly how much BTC each of the 8 supported funds consumes.
Affects only the dollar value of the lost BTC — not the BTC amount.
BTC consumed by fees over 10 years
Ranked cheapest to most expensive. Fees per fund prospectus; ratio provenance in the ledger above and the chip on each row.
| Fund | Fee | BTC lost | Sats lost | % of stack | USD value* | BTC/share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSBT Morgan Stanley | 0.14% | 0.013912 | 1,391,213 | 1.39% | — | 0.0002866 10-Q + DECAY · 06-30 |
| BTC Grayscale | 0.15% | 0.014899 | 1,489,915 | 1.49% | — | 0.0004421 FILED · 08-18 |
| BITB Bitwise | 0.20% | 0.019821 | 1,982,096 | 1.98% | — | 0.0005427 FILED · 08-17 |
| HODL VanEck | 0.20% | 0.019821 | 1,982,096 | 1.98% | — | 0.0002829 FILED · 08-18 |
| ARKB ARK/21Shares | 0.21% | 0.020803 | 2,080,266 | 2.08% | — | 0.0003316 FILED · 08-19 |
| IBIT BlackRock | 0.25% | 0.024721 | 2,472,062 | 2.47% | — | 0.0005662 10-Q + DECAY · 07-30 |
| FBTC Fidelity | 0.25% | 0.024721 | 2,472,062 | 2.47% | — | 0.0008702 10-Q + DECAY · 06-30 |
| GBTC Grayscale | 1.50% | 0.140270 | 14,026,956 | 14.03% | — | 0.0007740 FILED · 08-18 |
* value of the lost BTC — fills in when the live BTC price loads.
How the math works
A spot Bitcoin ETF holds nothing but bitcoin, so its sponsor fee is paid by selling bitcoin. Each year the trust retains a factor of (1 − fee) of its holdings per share; over t years, your shares are backed by (1 − fee)^t of the bitcoin they started with. The drag shown above is the rest: position × (1 − (1 − fee)^t). This is the same derivation used throughout our IBIT expense-ratio and fee-drag guide, where you can see it traced against BlackRock's published BTC-per-share history.
Fees are each fund's current prospectus expense ratio, from the same data module that powers our fund comparison. The BTC-per-share ratios shown in the table carry the site's standard provenance chips; the ledger under the title holds the per-fund receipts. Dollar values use the live BTC price from the same pipeline as the main calculator.
The fee war these numbers come from — the January 2024 launch waivers, GBTC's outlier 1.5%, and the 0.14% floor set in 2026 — is documented filing by filing in our history of the road to the spot Bitcoin ETF. And for the drag question most often attached to a tax one — whether a GBTC holder should eat the capital-gains bill to escape the 1.5% — our GBTC vs Mini Trust breakeven analysis works the arithmetic in bitcoin terms. This drag model applies only to fee-only trusts — why it cannot be applied to an operating company's bitcoin-per-share is the subject of IBIT vs MSTR.
FAQ
Why measure ETF fees in bitcoin instead of dollars?
Because that is how the fee is actually charged. A spot Bitcoin ETF pays its expense ratio by selling a sliver of the trust's bitcoin every day, which lowers the BTC-per-share ratio. Your share count never changes — the bitcoin behind each share does. Dollar-based fee calculators measure the side effect; the bitcoin is what you actually give up.
How much bitcoin does a 0.25% fee consume over 10 years?
About 2.47% of your position — roughly 2,472,062 sats of every 1 BTC. The retained fraction after t years is (1 − fee)^t, so ten years at 0.25% keeps 0.9975^10 ≈ 97.53% of the bitcoin your shares represented at purchase.
Does the fee cost more when Bitcoin's price goes up?
In dollars, yes; in bitcoin, no. The BTC the fee consumes depends only on the expense ratio and time. The optional return input on this calculator changes the dollar value of that lost bitcoin at the end of your holding period — it never changes the amount of bitcoin lost.
Which Bitcoin ETF loses the least bitcoin to fees?
MSBT (Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust) at 0.14% annually — about 1.39% of your bitcoin over 10 years. At the other end, GBTC's 1.50% consumes 14.03% over the same period. Fees are per each fund's prospectus; ratio provenance is shown in the ledger on this page.
Disclaimer: This tool is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Fee schedules can change; always confirm against the fund's current prospectus.