Data as of .
ARKB vs HODL: which tracked its coin?
Over the year, ARKB finished 0.50 of a percentage point ahead of Bitcoin and HODL 0.62 ahead.
ETFIQ Coin Capture Score: HODL scores higher
How much of what holding the coin gave did a holder of the fund keep?
A percentile among the 24 spot crypto ETPs with a full year. It is a position in a set, not a rating, and neither end of it is a recommendation. All crypto ETFs ranked by it · How it is computed
The same coin, two trusts
ARKB and HODL hold the same asset. Both are 1933 Act trusts holding Bitcoin through a custodian, so neither has a portfolio to compare: the whole of each fund is one line. Over the same days, ARKB finished 0.50 of a percentage point ahead of Bitcoin and HODL 0.62 of a percentage point ahead, so ARKB kept more of what holding the coin gave, by 0.12 of a percentage point. That gap is the fee, the custody, the creation and redemption friction and the market’s pricing of the shares, compounded into one figure.
Performance, window by window
| Window | Total return | The coin over the same days | Difference, percentage points | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARKB | HODL | ARKB | HODL | ARKB | HODL | |
| 1 month | +21.9% | +22.0% | +21.8% | +21.8% | +0.2 pts | +0.2 pts |
| 3 months | +21.5% | +21.6% | +21.5% | +21.5% | 0.0 pts | +0.1 pts |
| 6 months | +8.5% | +8.6% | +8.8% | +8.8% | −0.4 pts | −0.3 pts |
| 1 year | −32.7% | −32.5% | −33.2% | −33.2% | +0.5 pts | +0.6 pts |
| Since each listed | +64.4% | +65.2% | +66.6% | +66.6% | −2.2 pts | −1.4 pts |
| ARKB Ark 21Shares Bitcoin ETF Holds Bitcoin through a custodian, listed Jan 11, 2024 | HODL VanEck Bitcoin ETF Holds Bitcoin through a custodian, listed Jan 11, 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| Sponsor | Ark | VanEck |
| Holds | Bitcoin | Bitcoin |
| Net assets | $1.9bn, balance sheet of Jun 30, 2026 | $959m, balance sheet of Jun 30, 2026 |
| Sponsor’s fee | 0.21% | 0.20% |
| Fee waiver | the whole fee | the whole fee, until July 31, 2026, first $2.5 billion of assets |
| Staking | the chain has none | the chain has none |
| Listed | Jan 11, 2024 | Jan 11, 2024 |
| Days since listing | 974 days | 974 days |
| Days it has traded | 669 | 669 |
| Days it closed unchanged | 3 | 1 |
| Quoted | on an exchange, every trading day | on an exchange, every trading day |
| Fund returned, 1 year or since launch | −32.7% | −32.5% |
| The coin over the same days | −33.2% | −33.2% |
| Difference, percentage points | +0.5 pts | +0.6 pts |
| Fund returned since it listed | +64.4% | +65.2% |
| Difference since it listed | −2.2 pts | −1.4 pts |
| Price | $25.62 | $21.86 |
ARKB in plain words
ARKB holds Bitcoin through a custodian and trades on an exchange, so a holder gets the coin’s return inside a brokerage account rather than a wallet. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026, Bitcoin moved −33.2% and ARKB returned −32.7%. That leaves it 0.50 of a percentage point ahead. That difference is the fee, the custody cost, the friction of creating and redeeming shares in blocks, and whatever the market paid for the shares rather than for the coin, all of it together. It is the only figure on this page the sponsor does not publish itself. ARKB charges 0.21% a year and still finished 0.5% ahead of Bitcoin, which a fee cannot do on its own. On a chain with nothing to stake, a fund cannot earn its way past the asset it holds: what moved is what the market paid for the shares. A spot trust is not a registered investment company. It files a 10-K rather than an N-PORT, and its holding is one line: the Bitcoin it custodies.
HODL in plain words
HODL holds Bitcoin through a custodian and trades on an exchange, so a holder gets the coin’s return inside a brokerage account rather than a wallet. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026, Bitcoin moved −33.2% and HODL returned −32.5%. That leaves it 0.62 of a percentage point ahead. HODL charges 0.20% a year and still finished 0.6% ahead of Bitcoin, which a fee cannot do on its own.
Questions people ask
- Which tracked Bitcoin more closely, ARKB or HODL?
- Over the window to Sep 11, 2026, ARKB finished 0.50 of a percentage point ahead of Bitcoin and HODL 0.62 of a percentage point ahead, so ARKB tracked it more closely, by 0.12 of a percentage point. That difference is the fee, the custody cost, the friction of creating and redeeming shares in blocks and whatever the market paid for the shares rather than for the coin, all together.
- Do ARKB or HODL pay a staking yield?
- Bitcoin is a proof of work chain, so there is nothing to stake and no fund holding it can pay a staking yield.
- What is the difference between ARKB and HODL?
- Both hold Bitcoin through a custodian and both trade on an exchange, so what separates them is what each costs a holder over time. ARKB is sponsored by Ark and listed Jan 11, 2024; HODL by VanEck, listed Jan 11, 2024.
- Which is cheaper, ARKB or HODL?
- ARKB charges 0.21% a year and HODL charges 0.20%, so HODL is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Other comparisons
Where these figures came from
ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement.
Cite this page. ETFIQ, ARKB against HODL, data as of Sep 11, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/crypto/ARKB-HODL Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.