Spot Bitcoin ETFs

A spot ETF holds bitcoin behind its shares

A spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund holds bitcoin and issues shares that investors can buy through a brokerage account. The share price follows the value of those holdings, after fees and other expenses. Investors need to understand both the underlying asset and the fund’s custody and trading arrangements. BlackRock’s IBIT disclosures give one example of how these products work.

Fund flows measure money entering or leaving the products through share creation and redemption. They help show investment demand. The dollar value of a fund’s assets also changes when Bitcoin’s price moves, so assets under management and net flows answer different questions.

Funds received $176m on 27 October

US spot Bitcoin funds received $176.0m in net inflows on 27 October, following $110.3m on 26 October. Farside’s 28 October row still contains unreported fund entries; its displayed zero is an incomplete-session placeholder. The completed 27 October total comprises $151.5m for IBIT and $24.5m for FBTC; the other ten funds each show zero. Farside Investors records cumulative net inflows of $57.537bn.

A dash in a fund’s entry indicates an unreported value. The displayed daily total can be zero while every underlying entry is still a dash. Completed reports and a genuine zero are separate observations.

Redemptions can use bitcoin or cash

Authorised participants create or redeem large blocks of fund shares under each product’s rules. In July 2025, the SEC permitted in-kind creations and redemptions for crypto exchange-traded products. An in-kind redemption can transfer bitcoin to the participant; a cash redemption uses cash. The fund’s prospectus explains the permitted arrangements.

This distinction affects how a flow reaches the wider market. A reported outflow measures a redemption from the product. Whether and when the transferred coins are sold depends on the transaction and the participant’s subsequent activity.

Compare fees, custody and trading costs

Compare a fund’s annual charge, the gap between its buy and sell prices, its tracking of Bitcoin and the custody terms. IBIT’s stated annual sponsor fee is 0.25%. Other funds have their own fees and conditions.

The Bitcoin reference places fund demand alongside a dated coin price, company holdings and the Federal Reserve calendar. Those records show what has happened; future returns depend on many sources of demand and supply.

BlackRock has proposed a separate options-based fund

BlackRock’s 19 October 2026 SEC filing proposes the iShares Bitcoin Managed Protection ETF, ticker PBIT. It would use overlapping options positions, capping potential gains while seeking protection against deeper price falls. Registration must take effect before shares become available.

The filing describes about 10% as the typical starting loss-exposure target for an options tranche, before fees and expenses; the manager can change that target. Purchase timing, overlapping tranches and costs affect the fund-level outcome. The IBIT reference fund holds Bitcoin directly, with a different investment structure.