Many applicants have submitted amended S-1 forms in the final step of the process before potential approval of the Bitcoin ETFs.
BlackRock, Ark Invest/21Shares, VanEck, WisdomTree, Invesco, Fidelity, and Valkyrie have all filed amended S-1 forms.
Included in the filings are some previously undisclosed expense ratios. BlackRock has set its expense ratio at 0.3% – though this could be lowered to 0.2% in the first year or until the ETF reaches $5 billion in assets. VanEck has chosen a flat fee of 0.25%, the lowest among the issuing firms so far. WisdomTree has a higher fee of 0.5%.
“Damn, BlackRock’s BTC ETF fee is 0.30% per their just-filed S-1. That’s way cheaper than I predicted. Life just got A LOT harder for others. ETF Terrordome is no joke,” said Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas.
Ark/21Shares has also reduced its fee from 0.8% to 0.25% to increase competitiveness – and will not charge fees for the first six months or until the ETF reaches $1 billion in assets.
“ARK going from 80bps to 25bps in one fell swoop is quite a move. The fee war is brutal but that’s a different level. They had to do it. BlackRock at 30bps likely crushes anyone much higher,” noted Balchunas.
This comes days after the applicants submitted amended – and possibly final – versions of their 19b-4 forms. New filings have been made for proposed funds from Grayscale Investments, Valkyrie, ARK 21Shares, and Invesco. The Cboe BZX exchange has also submitted forms for VanEck, WisdomTree, Franklin Templeton, and Pando Asset AG.
With the final documents now submitted, the SEC will decide whether to approve the 19b-4 forms and make the S-1 forms effective. If both of these happen, trading could begin the following day.
