Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
GBTC vs HODL: Tracking, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, GBTC finished 1.0 percentage point behind Bitcoin and HODL 0.02 ahead.
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Net assets: $8.1bn on Jun 30, 2026 for Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF, and $1.2bn on Oct 27, 2026 for VanEck Bitcoin ETF.
GBTC over 1 year: fund −29.31%, Bitcoin −28.30%, 1.01 pt behind Bitcoin. Data to Oct 28, 2026.
Data to Oct 28, 2026.HODL over 1 year: fund −28.28%, Bitcoin −28.30%, 0.02 pts ahead of Bitcoin. Data to Oct 28, 2026.
Data to Oct 28, 2026.Pair scorecard
HODL costs 1.30 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 1.0 point.
| Measure | GBTC | HODL |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | −29.3% | −28.3% |
| Against its benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Bitcoin | Bitcoin |
| Against Bitcoin, same days | 1.0% behind | 0.0% behind |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 1.50% | 0.20% |
| Net assets, GBTC as of Jun 30, 2026 and HODL as of Oct 27, 2026 | $8.1bn | $1.2bn |
| Reports to the SEC on | 10-K, not N-PORT | |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | not published | |
How much of its coin's move it captured, after costs, ranked against 26 spot crypto trusts with a full year. 100 is best. How it is computed
A percentile among the 26 spot crypto trusts with a full year. Share of the coin's own price growth a holder kept; funds on different coins are ranked together. All crypto ETFs ranked by it →
Side by side
As of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
Window by window
| Total return | The coin over the same days | Difference, percentage points | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Window | GBTC | HODL | GBTC | HODL | GBTC | HODL |
| 1 month | −2.3% | −2.2% | −2.2% | −2.2% | −0.1 pts | 0.0 pts |
| 3 months | +27.9% | +28.3% | +28.3% | +28.3% | −0.4 pts | 0.0 pts |
| 6 months | +7.2% | +8.0% | +7.9% | +7.9% | −0.7 pts | +0.1 pts |
| 1 year | −29.3% | −28.3% | −28.3% | −28.3% | −1.0 pts | 0.0 pts |
| 3 years | +151.0% | – | +141.9% | – | +3.8% of its growth | – |
| Since each listed | – | +74.2% | – | +76.1% | – | −1.9 pts |
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The same coin, two trusts
GBTC 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, GBTC finished 1.0 percentage point behind Bitcoin and HODL 0.02 of a percentage point ahead, so HODL kept more of what holding the coin gave, by 1.00 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 number.
GBTC and HODL are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?
- Cost. GBTC charges 1.50% of assets a year and HODL 0.20%, a gap of 1.30 points.
- What each follows (similar). Both follow Bitcoin.
- One-year total return (similar). Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 GBTC returned −29.3% and HODL −28.3% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 1.0 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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GBTC
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 Oct 28, 2026, Bitcoin moved −28.3% and GBTC returned −29.3%. That leaves it 1.0 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. GBTC charges 1.50% a year and finished 1.0% 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.
HODL
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 Oct 28, 2026, Bitcoin moved −28.3% and HODL returned −28.3%. That leaves it 0.02 of a percentage point ahead. HODL charges 0.20% a year and finished 0.0% behind Bitcoin, so the fee is more than the whole difference.
Questions people ask
- Which tracked Bitcoin more closely, GBTC or HODL?
- Over the window to Oct 28, 2026, GBTC finished 1.0 percentage point behind Bitcoin and HODL 0.02 of a percentage point ahead, so HODL tracked it more closely, by 1.00 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 GBTC 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.
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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, GBTC against HODL, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/crypto/gbtc-vs-hodl
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). GBTC against HODL. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/crypto/gbtc-vs-hodl
[GBTC against HODL (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/crypto/gbtc-vs-hodl)
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