The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF (ticker GBTC) is a spot bitcoin exchange-traded product listed on NYSE Arca. It holds bitcoin directly and lets you get bitcoin price exposure through an ordinary brokerage account. Its sponsor fee is still 1.5% a year, which makes it the most expensive of the large US spot bitcoin funds. According to its latest quarterly report, filed for the quarter ended June 30, 2026, GBTC held 138,505.76 BTC and had net assets of about $8.14 billion. Grayscale's own Bitcoin Mini Trust ETF (ticker BTC) holds the same asset for a 0.15% fee.
The latest: what the June 2026 filing shows
GBTC's Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2026 is the most recent primary data on the fund:
- Fee: 1.5% a year of net assets. It accrues daily in US dollars and is paid in bitcoin. The fee came to $39.69 million for the quarter and $84.68 million for the first half of 2026. The filing does not mention any plan to cut it.
- Holdings: 138,505.76 BTC at June 30, 2026. Each share represented about 0.0008 BTC.
- Size: about $8.14 billion in net assets, or $45.56 per share on the principal-market NAV, with 178,580,100 shares outstanding.
- Benchmark change: from April 1, 2026, the index used to value the trust's bitcoin for operational purposes is the CoinDesk Bitcoin Benchmark Rate. It replaced the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index (XBX).
- Creations and redemptions: Authorized participants can only use "cash orders". The filing says the trust's agreements with them "do not currently provide for in-kind creations and redemptions."
- Sponsor: Grayscale Investments Sponsors, LLC has been sole sponsor since May 3, 2025. It is part of Digital Currency Group, Inc. (DCG).
What GBTC is and how it got here
- 2013: The trust was formed as a Delaware statutory trust on September 13, 2013, and began operations on September 25, 2013.
- 2015: On March 25, 2015, its shares were approved for public trading on the OTCQX Best Market. As an over-the-counter trust with no ongoing redemption, its share price could move far from the value of the bitcoin it held.
- August 29, 2023: In Grayscale Investments, LLC v. SEC, the US Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit vacated the SEC's order rejecting GBTC's conversion. The court found that the SEC had not explained why it treated spot bitcoin products differently from the bitcoin futures products it had approved. The court sent the matter back to the SEC rather than approving the conversion itself.
- January 10, 2024: The SEC approved the listing and trading of several spot bitcoin ETP shares. In his statement, Chair Gary Gensler cited the D.C. Circuit ruling as a key reason.
- January 11, 2024: GBTC began trading on NYSE Arca. A trust agreement amendment signed on January 9, 2024 lowered the sponsor fee from 2.0% to 1.5% from that date.
- July 31, 2024: Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust ETF (BTC) began trading on NYSE Arca. Its S-1 registration statement describes a spin-off: GBTC contributed bitcoin to the new trust, and the new trust's shares were distributed to GBTC shareholders.
How the fund works
- The trust holds bitcoin. It does not use leverage or derivatives. A third-party custodian holds the bitcoin, and the filing also names an alternative custodian.
- Each share is a slice of that bitcoin. The share price follows the value of the trust's bitcoin, less fees.
- The fee is paid in bitcoin. The trust sells or transfers bitcoin to pay the sponsor fee, so the amount of bitcoin behind each share shrinks slowly over time. The fee is not billed to your brokerage account. It shows up in the share's value.
- Authorized participants keep the price close to NAV. They create and redeem shares in cash. This is the mechanism the old OTC trust lacked, and its absence is why the trust's price drifted from the value of its holdings.
- Tax treatment: the sponsor takes the position that the trust is a grantor trust for US federal income tax purposes. How that applies to you depends on your situation and jurisdiction.
Fees: GBTC compared with lower-cost spot bitcoin funds
| Fund | Ticker | Annual fee | Size (date) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF | GBTC | 1.50% | ~$8.14bn net assets (June 30, 2026) |
| Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust ETF | BTC | 0.15% | ~$3.19bn net assets (June 30, 2026) |
| iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (BlackRock) | IBIT | 0.25% | ~$65.88bn net assets (October 23, 2026) |
Two notes on the table:
- The Mini Trust held 54,280.40 BTC at June 30, 2026, about 0.0004 BTC per share. Unlike GBTC, its authorized participants may use either cash or in-kind orders.
- The Mini Trust's sponsor fees for the first half of 2026 were $2.83 million, against $84.68 million for GBTC.
What the fee gap means in practice. Here is a simplified illustration. Assume $10,000 invested, a bitcoin price that stays flat for ten years, and no other costs. At 1.5% a year the position falls to about $8,597. At 0.15% it falls to about $9,851. The difference is roughly $1,250, and it grows or shrinks in proportion to bitcoin's price.
How much does the yearly fee take?
Enter an amount, a yearly fund fee and a number of years to see what is left if the bitcoin price stays flat.
| Amount invested | Yearly fund fee | Years held | Value left at a flat bitcoin price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10,000 USD | 1.5 % | 10 years | 8,597 USD |
| 10,000 USD | 0.15 % | 10 years | 9,851 USD |
| 10,000 USD | 0.25 % | 10 years | 9,753 USD |
- The bitcoin price is assumed to stay flat for the whole period, as in the article's simplified illustration.
- The fee is applied once a year here; the funds accrue it daily, so real figures differ slightly.
- No other costs are included.
This shows fee drag only on a flat bitcoin price: it leaves out price moves, trading and brokerage costs, tax, and any gap between share price and NAV, and it is not investment advice.
GBTC or owning bitcoin directly
| GBTC | Direct bitcoin | |
|---|---|---|
| What you own | Shares in a trust | The coins themselves |
| Custody | A third-party custodian, through the trust | Your wallet and private keys |
| Trading hours | NYSE Arca sessions: core 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET, with early (from 4:00 a.m.) and late (to 8:00 p.m.) sessions; access to the extended sessions depends on your broker | Around the clock |
| Ongoing cost | 1.5% a year sponsor fee | No fund fee; network and trading costs apply |
| Uses | Hold in brokerage accounts, including some retirement accounts, depending on the provider | Transfer, self-custody, on-chain use |
How to buy GBTC
- Use a brokerage account that offers US-listed ETPs. Retirement-account eligibility depends on the provider.
- Search for the ticker GBTC and check that the listing is NYSE Arca.
- Choose your order type. A market order fills at the current price. A limit order fills only at your price or better.
- Compare the fee with alternatives before you buy. The same bitcoin exposure costs 0.15% a year through the Mini Trust and 0.25% through IBIT.
Risks
- Bitcoin price risk: the fund follows bitcoin, including its sharp falls. The trust valued bitcoin at $58,745.18 on June 30, 2026, down from much higher levels over the prior 52 weeks.
- Fee drag: 1.5% a year steadily reduces the bitcoin behind each share.
- Structure: creations and redemptions are cash-only, and you hold trust shares, not coins you can move.
- Concentration: one asset, one sponsor, and a third-party custodian.
FAQ
What is GBTC's expense ratio?
The sponsor fee is 1.5% a year of net assets. It accrues daily and is paid in bitcoin, according to the June 30, 2026 10-Q.
Does GBTC still trade at a big discount?
Not in the way it did as an OTC trust. Since January 11, 2024, authorized participants can create and redeem shares, in cash, which keeps the price close to NAV.
Is the Mini Trust (BTC) the same as GBTC?
Both are Grayscale spot bitcoin trusts on NYSE Arca. The Mini Trust charges 0.15% instead of 1.5%, and its authorized participants may use in-kind orders.
Can I stake or earn yield on GBTC?
No. The trust holds bitcoin and does not use leverage or derivatives. Bitcoin pays no yield.
This article covers GBTC's structure and costs and is not investment advice. Limitations: fund figures come from the trusts' Q2 2026 filings and the issuer's page and will change. Daily fund flow figures differ between outlets and are not included.
