At a glance
ETHV charges 0.2% a year, above the 0.15% average of the 7 funds most like it (the 3rd cheapest of 6). It has $77.8M in assets, the 6th largest of that group. Over the past year it returned −44.3% with distributions reinvested (S&P 500: +11.5%), 3rd of those 7 funds.
The short version
VanEck Ethereum ETF (ETHV) holds ether (ETH), the digital currency of the Ethereum network. It is set up as a grantor trust, not as a traditional fund, and aims to track ether's price, minus expenses, using the MarketVector Ethereum Benchmark Rate. Its 0.20% expense ratio is lower than the 0.25% charged by the iShares, Fidelity and Invesco rivals but higher than the 0% listed for Bitwise and 21Shares. It pays no income.
Price history
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ETHV -44.3% over the year to Oct 27, 2026, total return with distributions reinvested.
How it has behaved
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | Since start | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ETHV price data to Oct 27, 2026 | -21.2% | -44.3% | — | — | — | -15.9% |
- Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, ETHV returned -44.3%, 3rd of 7 among similar funds.
- Its worst full calendar year was 2025 (-11.0%); its best was 2025 (-11.0%).
- The deepest fall in its price history was 67.9% (Aug 22, 2025 to Jun 25, 2026), not yet recovered.
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | -21.2% |
| 2025 | -11.0% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Before this security existed |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Before this security existed |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Before this security existed |
What's inside
The trust holds ether directly, worth $77.8M as of Jun 30, 2026 (per its 10-Q). It does not hold stocks or bonds, so there is no holdings list.
How it works
ETHV is a Delaware statutory trust. Each share is a fractional ownership interest in a pool of ether. Gemini Trust Company is the main custodian holding that ether, with Coinbase Custody Trust Company as an additional custodian. VanEck Digital Assets, LLC sponsors the trust, and State Street serves as administrator and cash custodian. The trust is registered under the Securities Act of 1933, not the Investment Company Act of 1940, so it lacks some protections that regular mutual funds and ETFs carry.
The trust owns only ether, so it has no stock picking, weighting or rebalancing. It values its ether using the MarketVector Ethereum Benchmark Rate, a US-dollar reference price for ETH. The index is run by MarketVector, which is owned by VanEck. The trust is passive. It will not try to time the market, avoid losses or hedge against ether's price swings.
Large broker-dealers called authorized participants create and redeem shares in blocks of 25,000, paying or receiving either cash or ether. In a cash creation, the sponsor uses the cash to purchase ether from a separate liquidity provider. The trust also sells small amounts of ether to pay the sponsor's fee, so the amount of ether behind each share slowly shrinks over time. Everyday investors trade the shares on the Cboe BZX Exchange.
What it really costs
- ETHV charges 0.2% a year, versus an average of 0.15% for the similar funds below (3rd of 6, cheapest first).
Structure and tax notes
- Structured as a grantor trust registered under the Securities Act of 1933, not as a 1940 Act investment company, so it lacks some fund-specific investor protections.
- Holds a cryptocurrency directly. Prices can swing far more than stocks, and the fund holds no income-producing assets.
In a retirement portfolio
ETHV holds a single, highly volatile digital asset that produces no income, so it fits only as a small, speculative slice of a portfolio, if at all.
ETHV launched in June 2024, so it has no record through the 2008 financial crisis, the 2020 COVID crash or the 2022 bear market. Its only full calendar year, 2025, ended with an 11% loss. Its deepest drop was 67.9%, from August 22, 2025 to June 25, 2026, and it had not recovered as of October 27, 2026. Its one-year volatility, a measure of how widely returns swing, was 65.5% as of that date, and its one-year return was -44.3%. Someone who has to sell shares for cash during a slump like that would lock in a deep loss. No distributions have been recorded, so the fund offers no income to draw on. Its 0.20% expense ratio is paid out of the trust's ether. Past results don't predict the future, and a plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.
Who it may suit — and who should look elsewhere
May suit
- Investors who want ether's price exposure through a regular brokerage account, without managing crypto wallets, private keys or exchange accounts.
- Cost-conscious ether investors: the 0.20% expense ratio is below the 0.25% charged by ETHA, FETH and QETH.
- People who can hold through drops like the 67.9% fall from August 2025 to June 2026 and keep ether as a small satellite position.
Look elsewhere if
- Anyone who needs income: the fund has recorded no distributions, and ether pays no interest or dividends.
- Those who prefer a larger fund: ETHV had $77.8 million in net assets as of June 30, 2026, versus $4.29 billion for ETHA.
- Investors who want 1940 Act protections or a long track record. ETHV is a grantor trust launched in June 2024, with no history through past major crashes.
Close alternatives
Matched by other funds that hold ether directly.
| Fund | Cost | Net assets | 1 yr | 3 yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ETHV this fund | 0.2% | $77.8M | -44.3% | — |
| ETHA iShares Ethereum Trust ETF | 0.25% | $4.29B | -44.4% | — |
| FETH Fidelity Ethereum Fund ETF | 0.25% | $758.8M | -44.2% | — |
| ETHW Bitwise Ethereum ETF | 0% | $168.5M | -44.3% | — |
| QETH Invesco Galaxy Ethereum ETF | 0.25% | $15.6M | -44.3% | — |
| CETH 21Shares Core Ethereum ETF | 0% | $8.4M | — | — |
| ETH Grayscale Ethereum Mini Trust ETF | — | $1.35B | -43.2% | — |
| ETHE Grayscale Ethereum Trust ETF | — | $1.22B | -44.6% | — |
Questions investors ask
What does ETHV hold?
ETHV holds ether (ETH), the digital asset of the Ethereum network. It is a grantor trust, which means each share is a fractional ownership interest in the trust's ether. Gemini Trust Company and Coinbase Custody Trust Company keep the ether safe for the trust. The goal is to track ether's price, minus expenses. That price is measured by the MarketVector Ethereum Benchmark Rate, which comes from MarketVector, a VanEck subsidiary. The trust is passive. It does not trade around price swings or hedge against losses.
What is the expense ratio of ETHV?
ETHV's expense ratio is 0.20% a year. An expense ratio is the yearly fee, taken as a share of assets. The trust pays it by selling small amounts of its ether. That is less than the 0.25% charged by the iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHA), the Fidelity Ethereum Fund ETF (FETH) and the Invesco Galaxy Ethereum ETF (QETH). But the Bitwise Ethereum ETF (ETHW) and the 21Shares Core Ethereum ETF (CETH) were listed at 0%. So ETHV ranks third-lowest of six similar ether funds and costs more than their 0.15% average.
ETHV vs ETHA: what's the difference?
The main differences are size and cost, not what they hold. Both hold ether directly. ETHV charges 0.20% a year, while the iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHA) charges 0.25%. But ETHA had about $4.29 billion in net assets as of June 30, 2026, compared with roughly $77.8 million for ETHV. Their one-year losses through October 27, 2026 were almost the same: 44.3% for ETHV and 44.4% for ETHA. ETHV's own filings warn that it may never grow to, or stay at, an economically viable size.
Does ETHV pay dividends?
No. ETHV has made no distributions, and ether pays no interest or dividends for the trust to pass along. Any return comes only from changes in ether's price. The trust also sells ether to pay its 0.20% annual fee, so the amount of ether behind each share shrinks a little over time. Retirees who draw income from their savings would have to sell ETHV shares to get cash from this holding.
Is ETHV good for retirement?
ETHV is a high-risk holding that pays no income. It may suit only investors who want a small slice of ether and can live through deep losses. It fell 67.9% from its August 22, 2025 peak to its June 25, 2026 low and had not recovered as of October 27, 2026. It lost 11% in 2025 and 21.2% in 2026 through October 27. As a grantor trust, it also lacks some protections of the Investment Company Act of 1940, the law that governs most mutual funds and ETFs.