According to Cointelegraph, VanEck has announced an extension of its fee waiver for the VanEck Bitcoin ETF (HODL) as part of its strategy to attract investors in the competitive Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) market. The asset management firm revealed that it will waive management fees on the first $2.5 billion in net assets of the spot BTC ETF until January 10, 2026. This extension comes after the initial waiver, which was set to expire in March 2025 and applied to the first $1.5 billion in assets under management (AUM).
Kyle DaCruz, VanEck’s director of digital assets products, stated that the HODL ETF is nearing the original $1.5 billion threshold due to growing investor enthusiasm for Bitcoin. He expressed hope that the extended fee waiver would encourage more investors to consider Bitcoin and digital assets as part of their portfolios. The VanEck Bitcoin ETF's baseline management fee stands at 0.20%, which is competitive but slightly higher than some of its rivals, such as the Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust (BTC), which charges a lower annual sponsor fee of 0.15%.
The trend of waiving management fees is common among cryptocurrency ETF sponsors, with most setting these waivers to expire within six months to a year of a fund’s launch. As of now, VanEck's Bitcoin ETF has net assets of approximately $1.28 billion, positioning it behind several other spot BTC funds. The largest among these, the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), has accumulated around $46 billion in AUM.
Bitcoin has maintained a dominant presence in the ETF landscape since the launch of spot BTC ETFs in January. Investor interest surged following the election of crypto-friendly President-elect Donald Trump on November 5. By November 21, US BTC ETFs surpassed $100 billion in net assets for the first time, as reported by Bloomberg Intelligence.
Bryan Armour, director of passive strategies research at Morningstar, highlighted two main factors contributing to the growth of spot Bitcoin ETFs: widespread Bitcoin adoption and the superior nature of the product. Armour noted that these ETFs have enabled new investors to purchase Bitcoin for the first time, particularly those who previously faced challenges in setting up a wallet and buying Bitcoin on a cryptocurrency exchange. Additionally, these ETFs offer benefits such as cheaper trading, low fees, and top-tier Bitcoin storage practices.
