BlackRock and VanEck spark low fees battle as Bitcoin ETF decisions loom

BATTLELINES have been drawn by companies vying for supremacy as the prospect of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds being given approval closes in.

VanEck, BlackRock and Ark/21Shares today revealed they were setting low fees on their planned spot ETFs, which will be reviewed and decided upon by the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

The first volley was fired by BlackRock, which announced a 0.30% fee. VanEck then hit back by disclosing a 0.25% fee. Ark/21Shares then slashed its fees to 0.25% after earlier declaring 0.80%.

Eyes will now turn to behemoths like Grayscale as the fight for market share heats up. The world’s largest crypto asset manager has, currently, set its fee at 1.5%.

Crypto prices have been elevated since applications for a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund were submitted last week. And with the window for a decision on them closing soon, market momentum has today seen Bitcoin testing $45,000.

The movement towards Bitcoin ETFs sprang into action last year when Grayscale fought a legal battle against the SEC which had rejected the notion and turned down several proposals, citing a lack of investor protection and anti-fraud requirements.

An appeal in August then ruled the SEC was wrong to reject the application.

An ETF allows investors to have their portfolios exposed to Bitcoin without the need to directly hold the flagship cryptocurrency.