IBIT vs GBTC: the 1.25-point fee gap costs you $12,500 a decade
BlackRock's IBIT charges 0.25%. Grayscale's GBTC charges 1.5%. We ran the decade-long cost math and checked liquidity, spreads, and premium/discount history for both.
IBIT9.4
THE LIQUIDITY KING
BlackRock's fund: 0.25% expense ratio, deepest options market of any bitcoin ETF, tightest spreads.
View IBIT snapshot →
GBTC7.2
THE LEGACY VEHICLE
Longest track record of any US bitcoin fund, now competing on price after its 2024 ETF conversion — still the priciest major option.
View GBTC snapshot →
Side by side
*Assumes flat BTC price, fee compounding only — for cost comparison, not a return projection. Fees verified JUL 2026. BTC {{ price }}
Category winners
Lowest costIBIT
Trading liquidity / tightest spreadIBIT
Longest audited track recordGBTC
Best for buy-and-hold in a brokerage IRAIBIT
OUR VERDICT
Pick IBIT for nearly every case — the fee gap alone costs a $50,000 holder roughly $6,700 more over a decade with GBTC, and IBIT's liquidity is unmatched. GBTC's edge is pedigree, not price: it remains the longest-running vehicle, which matters only if that history specifically matters to you.
Common questions
Why did GBTC's fee stay so high after converting to an ETF?
Grayscale rebuilt distribution and still charges a premium the market has largely stopped rewarding — hence its shrinking share of new inflows since 2024. See our full ETF rankings for the current field.
Is IBIT the cheapest bitcoin ETF overall?
No — several funds including FBTC and BITB also charge 0.25% or less. Compare all seven trackers on our ETF pillar page.
Can I hold either in a Bitcoin IRA?
Yes, through a brokerage-linked IRA custodian. If you want to hold actual BTC instead of a fund, see our Bitcoin IRA comparison.