Data as of .
BTC vs GBTC: which tracked its coin?
Over the year, BTC finished 0.47 of a percentage point ahead of Bitcoin and GBTC 0.36 behind.
ETFIQ Coin Capture Score: BTC 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
BTC and GBTC 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, BTC finished 0.47 of a percentage point ahead of Bitcoin and GBTC 0.36 of a percentage point behind, so GBTC kept more of what holding the coin gave, by 0.11 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. GBTC has 1,672 more days of record than BTC, and a longer record is a longer window over which a cost can show itself.
Performance, window by window
| Window | Total return | The coin over the same days | Difference, percentage points | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BTC | GBTC | BTC | GBTC | BTC | GBTC | |
| 1 month | +21.9% | +21.9% | +21.8% | +21.8% | +0.1 pts | +0.1 pts |
| 3 months | +21.4% | +21.1% | +21.5% | +21.5% | −0.1 pts | −0.4 pts |
| 6 months | +8.4% | +7.8% | +8.8% | +8.8% | −0.4 pts | −1.1 pts |
| 1 year | −32.7% | −33.5% | −33.2% | −33.2% | +0.5 pts | −0.4 pts |
| Since each listed | +18.0% | +649.0% | +19.5% | +1008.7% | −1.5 pts | −32.4% of its growth |
| BTC Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust ETF Holds Bitcoin through a custodian, listed Jul 31, 2024 | GBTC Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF Holds Bitcoin through a custodian, listed Jan 2, 2020 | |
|---|---|---|
| Sponsor | Grayscale | Grayscale |
| Holds | Bitcoin | Bitcoin |
| Net assets | $3.2bn, balance sheet of Jun 30, 2026 | $8.1bn, balance sheet of Jun 30, 2026 |
| Sponsor’s fee | 0.15% | 1.50% |
| Fee waiver | none | none |
| Staking | the chain has none | the chain has none |
| Listed | Jul 31, 2024 | Jan 2, 2020 |
| Days since listing | 772 days | 2,444 days |
| Days it has traded | 531 | 1,682 |
| Days it closed unchanged | 4 | 12 |
| Quoted | on an exchange, every trading day | on an exchange, every trading day |
| Fund returned, 1 year or since launch | −32.7% | −33.5% |
| The coin over the same days | −33.2% | −33.2% |
| Difference, percentage points | +0.5 pts | −0.4 pts |
| Fund returned since it listed | +18.0% | +649.0% |
| Difference since it listed | −1.5 pts | −32.4% of its growth |
| Price | $34.15 | $59.77 |
BTC in plain words
BTC 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 BTC returned −32.7%. That leaves it 0.47 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. BTC charges 0.15% 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.
GBTC in plain words
GBTC 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 GBTC returned −33.5%. That leaves it 0.36 of a percentage point behind. GBTC charges 1.50% a year and finished 0.4% behind Bitcoin, so the fee is more than the whole difference.
Questions people ask
- Which tracked Bitcoin more closely, BTC or GBTC?
- Over the window to Sep 11, 2026, BTC finished 0.47 of a percentage point ahead of Bitcoin and GBTC 0.36 of a percentage point behind, so GBTC tracked it more closely, by 0.11 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 BTC or GBTC 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 BTC and GBTC?
- Both hold Bitcoin through a custodian and both trade on an exchange, so what separates them is what each costs a holder over time. BTC is sponsored by Grayscale and listed Jul 31, 2024; GBTC by Grayscale, listed Jan 2, 2020.
- Which is cheaper, BTC or GBTC?
- BTC charges 0.15% a year and GBTC charges 1.50%, so BTC 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, BTC against GBTC, data as of Sep 11, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/crypto/BTC-GBTC Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.