Grayscale’s Bitcoin, Ether 'mini’ ETFs pulled $750M in first 3 months
2024-10-30

Grayscale’s newest Bitcoin BTCUSD and Ether ETHUSD exchange-traded funds (ETFs) pulled more than $750 million in net inflows, the company reported on Oct. 29.
Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust (BTC) and Grayscale Mini Ethereum Trust (ETH) were both listed in July after spinning out of Grayscale’s older BTC and ETH funds, respectively.
The July spinoffs separated the low-cost Mini Trusts from Grayscale’s older and costlier Bitcoin and Ethereum funds — Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) and Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE).
With management fees of 0.15% each, excluding promotions, the Mini Trusts charge the lowest base fees among spot cryptocurrency ETFs. 
“[T]he success of BTC and ETH to-date is emblematic of strong client demand for low-cost [crypto] ETPs,” John Hoffman, Grayscale’s managing director and head of distribution and partnerships, said in a statement.
The launch of spot BTC and ETH ETFs in January and July, respectively, sparked fee wars among ETF issuers vying for investor inflows.
Most newly launched spot crypto ETFs temporarily waived or discounted fees, typically from six months to one year.
Spot crypto ETFs generally charge shareholders between 0.15% and 0.25% of assets under management each year. 
Grayscale’s GBTC and ETHE are outliers, charging management fees of 1.5% and 2.5%, respectively. 
Grayscale’s legacy trusts saw approximately $20 billion in net outflows in the months after listing as investors sought to lock in profits or invest in lower-cost funds. 
The asset manager launched GBTC and ETHE in 2013 and 2017, initially as non-listed trusts. 
Grayscale is the world’s largest crypto fund manager, with more than $20 billion in assets under management (AUM) as of October, according to the company.
Grayscale also operates private single-asset funds for other protocol tokens, such as Aave (AAVE) and Chainlink (LINK).
Cryptocurrency funds accounted for 13 of the 25 largest ETF launches in 2024 by inflows through August, according to a post on the X platform by Nate Geraci, president of The ETF Store, an investment adviser.
Bitcoin has dominated the ETF landscape this year, accounting for six of the top 10 most successful launches in 2024, Geraci said in an X post.