Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
HODL vs IBIT: Tracking, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, HODL finished 0.02 of a percentage point ahead of Bitcoin and IBIT 0.16 behind.
askIQ about this page
askIQ about HODL and IBIT
Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $1.2bn for VanEck Bitcoin ETF and $65.4bn for iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF.
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.IBIT over 1 year: fund −28.45%, Bitcoin −28.30%, 0.16 pts behind Bitcoin. Data to Oct 28, 2026.
Data to Oct 28, 2026.Pair scorecard
HODL costs 0.05 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.2 points; IBIT is far larger, $65.4bn against $1.2bn.
| Measure | HODL | IBIT |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | −28.3% | −28.5% |
| Against its benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Bitcoin | Bitcoin |
| Against Bitcoin, same days | 0.0% behind | 0.2% behind |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.20% | 0.25% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $1.2bn | $65.4bn |
| 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 | HODL | IBIT | HODL | IBIT | HODL | IBIT |
| 1 month | −2.2% | −2.3% | −2.2% | −2.2% | 0.0 pts | −0.1 pts |
| 3 months | +28.3% | +28.2% | +28.3% | +28.3% | 0.0 pts | −0.2 pts |
| 6 months | +8.0% | +7.9% | +7.9% | +7.9% | +0.1 pts | 0.0 pts |
| 1 year | −28.3% | −28.5% | −28.3% | −28.3% | 0.0 pts | −0.2 pts |
| Since each listedHODL Jan 2024 · IBIT Jan 2024 | +74.2% | +73.3% | +76.1% | +76.1% | −1.9 pts | −1.6% of its growth |
The same coin, two trusts
HODL and IBIT 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, HODL finished 0.02 of a percentage point ahead of Bitcoin and IBIT 0.16 of a percentage point behind, so HODL kept more of what holding the coin gave, by 0.14 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.
HODL and IBIT are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?
- Size. HODL has $1.2bn in net assets and IBIT $65.4bn (net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026); IBIT is 54.5 times larger.
- What each follows (similar). Both follow Bitcoin.
- One-year total return (similar). Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 HODL returned −28.3% and IBIT −28.5% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 0.2 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
The two-page PDF for this pair is coming. Save the comparison to follow its changes. Free. It needs an email sign-in, once.
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. 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. HODL charges 0.20% a year and finished 0.0% behind Bitcoin, so the fee is more than the whole 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.
IBIT
IBIT 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 IBIT returned −28.5%. That leaves it 0.16 of a percentage point behind. IBIT charges 0.25% a year and finished 0.2% behind Bitcoin, so the fee is almost the whole of the difference.
Questions people ask
- Which tracked Bitcoin more closely, HODL or IBIT?
- Over the window to Oct 28, 2026, HODL finished 0.02 of a percentage point ahead of Bitcoin and IBIT 0.16 of a percentage point behind, so HODL tracked it more closely, by 0.14 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 HODL or IBIT 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.
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.
Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown
ETFIQ, HODL against IBIT, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/crypto/hodl-vs-ibit
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). HODL against IBIT. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/crypto/hodl-vs-ibit
[HODL against IBIT (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/crypto/hodl-vs-ibit)
Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.