Bitcoin News
HODL outflows favor Bitwise momentum
The September inflow shift
U.S. crypto exchange-traded funds collected $1.2 billion in fresh capital during the trading week ending September 4. Bitcoin products captured more than 80% of that total. They pulled in $986.7 million. BlackRock’s Bitcoin products dominated the weekly tally with $691.5 million in net inflows. While BlackRock’s Bitcoin products dominated the weekly tally with $691.5 million in net inflows, Bitwise’s BITB captured $41.7 million, whereas VanEck’s HODL experienced $33 million in net withdrawals during the same five-day period ending September 4. I see a clear divergence in preference between these two providers. Bitwise’s BITB has generated the largest net inflows among crypto specialist bitcoin ETP providers since the debut of spot bitcoin ETPs in the U.S. on January 11. The $1.2 billion weekly crypto intake arrived even as Bitcoin prices retreated from above $81,000 to approximately $79,664. On August 31, net inflows reached $216.7 million, followed by a $236.5 million net outflow on September 1. On September 3, the two categories combined attracted $872.2 million. BlackRock’s Bitcoin fund pulled in $454 million on September 3 alone. Ethereum funds saw a steep slowdown. They added $215.3 million compared to $815.7 million the prior week.
Comparing Bitcoin products
Bitwise’s BITB surpassed $2 billion in assets under management two months after its launch. This fund donates 10% of its profits to organizations that fund bitcoin open-source development. It maintains an average daily trading volume of $91 million. BITB is the lowest-cost spot bitcoin ETP among those with at least $1 billion in AUM. The fund was also the first and only bitcoin ETP in the U.S. to publish the public bitcoin addresses of its holdings. In February, BITB became one of the top 25 fastest ETPs in history to reach the $1 billion AUM milestone. BITB is backed by the specialist expertise of Bitwise, which has a six-year track record in crypto. VanEck’s HODL manages $1.2 billion in assets. As of September 18, HODL holds 14,766.7 BTC, which has a value of $1.20 billion. The expense ratio for HODL is 0.20%. VanEck waived the entire sponsor fee for HODL through July 31, 2026, until the fund reached $2.5 billion in assets under management. As of April 9, 2026, the fund’s AUM was less than half that target.
| Metric | VanEck HODL | Bitwise BITB |
|---|---|---|
| Assets Under Management | $1.2 billion | Over $2 billion |
| Expense Ratio | 0.20% | Lowest for $1B+ AUM |
| Bitcoin Holdings | 14,766.7 BTC | Not disclosed |
| Weekly Flow (ending Sept 4) | $33 million outflow | $41.7 million inflow |
The cost of volatility
You know that Bitcoin prices remain volatile. I find the HODL outflows of $33 million for the week ending September 4 quite poor when compared to the $41.7 million inflow into Bitwise’s BITB. HODL shows a 1-year return of -7.78% as of April 10, 2026. This return slightly outperformed the -7.99% return from iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) during that same period. Over a two-year period, a $1,000 investment in HODL grew to $1,047, while an investment in IBIT grew to $1,039. IBIT maintains a much larger scale with $56.9 billion in assets under management. This makes HODL’s AUM less than one-fiftieth of that size. IBIT’s expense ratio is 0.25%. HODL’s AUM was less than half of the $2.5 billion threshold required to end the fee waiver as of April 9, 2026. The 0.20% expense ratio for HODL provides a small edge over IBIT’s fee. Does the HODL fee advantage matter when BITB captures the growing retail preference?
