Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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Crypto ETFs

BTC vs MSBT: Tracking, Returns & Fees

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Over the six months to Oct 28, 2026, BTC finished 0.03 of a percentage point ahead of Bitcoin and MSBT 0.06 behind.

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Net assets: $3.2bn on Jun 30, 2026 for Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust ETF, beside Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust.

At a glance
−28.4%
BTC returned, 1 year
+14.0%
MSBT returned, since launch, Apr 8, 2026
−0.1 pts
BTC against Bitcoin, in percentage points
−0.3 pts
MSBT against Bitcoin, in percentage points
BTC · 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 Within a point of Bitcoin
Within a point of BitcoinBTC over 1 year: fund −28.38%, Bitcoin −28.30%, 0.09 pts behind Bitcoin. Data to Oct 28, 2026.Bitcoin−28.30%BTC−28.38%about level with BitcoinTotal return, 1 year, fund against the coinWithin a point of BitcoinBTC over 1 year: fund −28.38%, Bitcoin −28.30%, 0.09 pts behind Bitcoin. Data to Oct 28, 2026.Bitcoin−28.30%BTC−28.38%about level with BitcoinTotal return, 1 year

BTC over 1 year: fund −28.38%, Bitcoin −28.30%, 0.09 pts behind Bitcoin. Data to Oct 28, 2026.

Data to Oct 28, 2026.
MSBT · since launch to Oct 28, 2026 Within a point of Bitcoin
Within a point of BitcoinMSBT since launch: fund +14.02%, Bitcoin +14.28%, 0.26 pts behind Bitcoin. Data to Oct 28, 2026.Bitcoin+14.28%MSBT+14.02%about level with BitcoinTotal return, since launch, fund against the coinWithin a point of BitcoinMSBT since launch: fund +14.02%, Bitcoin +14.28%, 0.26 pts behind Bitcoin. Data to Oct 28, 2026.Bitcoin+14.28%MSBT+14.02%about levelTotal return, since launch

MSBT since launch: fund +14.02%, Bitcoin +14.28%, 0.26 pts behind Bitcoin. Data to Oct 28, 2026.

Data to Oct 28, 2026.

Pair scorecard

MSBT costs 0.01 points a year less.

BTC vs MSBT: Tracking, Returns & Fees
MeasureBTCMSBT
Return
Total return, 1 year−28.4%not published
Against its benchmark
What it tracksBitcoinBitcoin
Against Bitcoin, same days0.1% behind0.3% behind
Cost and size
Expense ratio0.15%0.14%
Net assets$3.2bnnot read by ETFIQ
Reports to the SEC on10-K, not N-PORT
Holdings
Holdings in commonnot published
ETFIQ Coin Capture Score · BTC scores higher How much of what holding the coin gave did a holder of the fund keep?

BTC among the 26 spot crypto trusts with a full year

IQ Crypto Score75BTC34MSBT

How much of its coin's move it captured, after costs, ranked against 26 spot crypto trusts with a full year and 25 spot crypto trusts listed less than a year. 100 is best. How it is computed

BTC 75
1.9, the lowest in this set 98.1, the highest

MSBT among the 25 spot crypto trusts listed less than a year

MSBT 34
2.0, the lowest in this set 98.0, the highest

A percentile among the 26 spot crypto trusts with a full year. MSBT is a percentile among the 25 spot crypto trusts listed less than a year, a different set, so the two marks are not on one scale. Share of the coin's own price growth a holder kept; funds on different coins are ranked together. All crypto ETFs ranked by it →

Method

Side by side

BTC Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust ETF · Holds Bitcoin through a custodian, first traded Jul 31, 2024 MSBT Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust · Holds Bitcoin through a custodian, first traded Apr 8, 2026
Holds Bitcoin Bitcoin
Net assets, as filed $3.2bn, balance sheet of Jun 30, 2026 not read
Sponsor’s fee 0.15% 0.14%
Fee waiver none none
Staking the chain has none the chain has none
First traded Jul 31, 2024 Apr 8, 2026
Days since its first trade 819 days 203 days
Days it has traded 564 142
Days it closed unchanged 4 1
Quoted on an exchange, every trading day on an exchange, every trading day
Fund returned, 1 year −28.4% +14.0% (since launch, Apr 8, 2026)
The coin over the same days −28.3% +14.3%
Difference, percentage points −0.1 pts −0.3 pts
Fund returned since launch +24.5% +14.0%
Difference since launch −0.5 pts −0.3 pts
Price $36.03 $23.34
Net assets $3.2bn not read by ETFIQ

As of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

Window by window

Window by window: BTC vs MSBT: Tracking, Returns & Fees
Total returnThe coin over the same daysDifference, percentage points
WindowBTCMSBTBTCMSBTBTCMSBT
1 month−2.3%−2.3%−2.2%−2.2%0.0 pts−0.1 pts
3 months+28.3%+28.1%+28.3%+28.3%0.0 pts−0.2 pts
6 months+7.9%+7.9%+7.9%+7.9%0.0 pts−0.1 pts
1 year−28.4%–−28.3%–−0.1 pts–
Since each listedNot the same days: BTC Jul 2024 · MSBT Apr 2026+24.5%+14.0%+25.0%+14.3%−0.5 pts−0.3 pts

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The same coin, two trusts

BTC and MSBT 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 days each has traded, BTC finished 0.09 of a percentage point behind Bitcoin and MSBT 0.26 of a percentage point behind, but the two windows are not the same days, so neither number is set against the other here. That gap is the fee, the custody, the creation and redemption friction and the market’s pricing of the shares, compounded into one number. BTC has 616 more days of record than MSBT, and a longer record is a longer window over which a cost can show itself.

Client brief

No client brief for this pair: ETFIQ prints no one-year total return for MSBT and no net assets for MSBT.

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About each fund
BTC

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 Oct 28, 2026, Bitcoin moved −28.3% and BTC returned −28.4%. That leaves it 0.09 of a percentage point behind. 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 number on this page the sponsor does not publish itself. BTC charges 0.15% a year and finished 0.1% behind Bitcoin, so the fee is almost the whole of the difference. 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.

MSBT

MSBT 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 time since launch to Oct 28, 2026, Bitcoin moved +14.3% and MSBT returned +14.0%. That leaves it 0.26 of a percentage point behind. MSBT charges 0.14% a year and finished 0.3% behind Bitcoin, so the fee is almost the whole of the difference.

Questions people ask

Which tracked Bitcoin more closely, BTC or MSBT?
Over the days each has traded, BTC finished 0.09 of a percentage point behind Bitcoin and MSBT 0.26 of a percentage point behind. Those are not set against each other here, because the two windows are not the same days, so neither is nearer its coin than the other on this page. Each difference carries 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.
Do BTC or MSBT 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 MSBT?
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 first traded Jul 31, 2024; MSBT by Morgan Stanley, first traded Apr 8, 2026.
Which is cheaper, BTC or MSBT?
BTC charges 0.15% a year and MSBT charges 0.14%, so MSBT is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Other comparisons
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Sources and dates

Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.

How this is computed

It is a place in a set, not a rating or a recommendation.

Every number is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested.

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ETFIQ, BTC against MSBT, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/crypto/btc-vs-msbt

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