At a glance
IBIT charges 0.25% a year, below the 0.37% average of the 7 funds most like it (the 5th cheapest of 8). It has $43.40B in assets, the largest of that group. Over the past year it returned −30.4% with distributions reinvested (S&P 500: +11.5%), 7th of those 8 funds.
The short version
iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) is a trust run by a BlackRock subsidiary. It holds bitcoin directly and aims to track bitcoin's price before expenses, with no income and no hedging. It was the largest of eight similar bitcoin funds, with $43.4 billion in assets as of June 30, 2026. Its 0.25% yearly fee is below the 0.37% average for similar funds, though four of them charge less.
Price history
The interactive chart needs JavaScript.
IBIT -30.4% over the year to Nov 2, 2026, total return with distributions reinvested.
How it has behaved
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | Since start | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IBIT price data to Nov 2, 2026 | -12.7% | -30.4% | — | — | — | +18.9% |
- Over the year to Nov 2, 2026, IBIT returned -30.4%, 7th of 8 among similar funds.
- Its worst full calendar year was 2025 (-6.4%); its best was 2025 (-6.4%).
- The deepest fall in its price history was 53.3% (Oct 6, 2025 to Jun 30, 2026), not yet recovered.
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | -12.7% |
| 2025 | -6.4% |
| 2024 | +99.2% |
| 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 bitcoin directly, worth $43.40B 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
IBIT holds no stocks or bonds, and no manager picks investments. The trust owns essentially one asset, bitcoin, and seeks to reflect bitcoin's price before expenses. It makes no attempt to profit from price swings or to soften them, so there is nothing to weight or rebalance.
Coinbase Custody Trust Company holds the bitcoin in accounts kept separate from its own assets and its other clients' assets. Anchorage Digital Bank serves as an additional custodian. At times, some bitcoin sits in a pooled trading account at Coinbase, Inc. to handle share creations, redemptions and fee payments. The Bank of New York Mellon holds the cash and serves as the trust's administrator.
Large brokers called Authorized Participants create shares in blocks of 40,000 in exchange for cash, or redeem them. The trust trades bitcoin to match. This helps keep the share price near net asset value (NAV), the value of the bitcoin behind each share. The price can drift above or below NAV, partly because bitcoin trades around the clock while IBIT trades on Nasdaq only until 4 p.m. Eastern. The 0.25% fee is paid out of the trust's bitcoin, so the bitcoin behind each share slowly shrinks. The trust is not registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, so it lacks some protections that mutual funds and most ETFs offer.
What it really costs
- IBIT charges 0.25% a year, versus an average of 0.37% for the similar funds below (5th of 8, 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
IBIT holds only bitcoin, which pays no income and has swung far more than stocks, so it may suit investors who want a small, higher-risk position beside a broader core portfolio.
IBIT is a grantor trust that holds bitcoin directly. It is not a registered investment company, so it lacks some protections mutual funds offer. It launched in January 2024, so it has no record from the 2008, 2020 or 2022 downturns. It lost 6.4% in 2025, its first full calendar year, but that hides larger swings: from October 6, 2025 to June 30, 2026, it fell 53.3% and had not recovered as of October 27, 2026. Anyone needing cash during that drop would have taken a deep loss.
It pays no income, so withdrawals would come from cashing in shares. Its 0.25% yearly sponsor fee is below the 0.37% average of similar bitcoin funds, but the Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust ETF (0.15%) and Bitwise Bitcoin ETF Trust (0.20%) cost less. Past results don't predict future returns, 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 bitcoin exposure in an ordinary brokerage account, without managing digital wallets, private keys or a crypto trading platform.
- Investors who prefer a large fund from a major sponsor: the BlackRock trust held $43.4 billion as of June 30, 2026, more than seven similar funds.
- Investors wanting a small, high-risk side holding who can ride out deep drops, such as the 53.3% fall from October 2025 to June 2026.
Look elsewhere if
- Retirees who need income: IBIT has made no distributions, and bitcoin pays no interest or dividends and has no earnings.
- Anyone wanting a long, steady record: IBIT launched in January 2024 and lost 28.2% in the year to October 30, 2026.
- Fee-focused investors: four similar funds charge less than IBIT's 0.25%, including Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust ETF (BTC) at 0.15%.
Close alternatives
Matched by other funds that hold bitcoin directly.
| Fund | Cost | Net assets | 1 yr | 3 yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IBIT this fund | 0.25% | $43.40B | -30.4% | — |
| FBTC Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund | 0.25% | $10.31B | -30.0% | — |
| GBTC Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF | 1.5% | $8.14B | -30.8% | — |
| ARKB ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF | 0.21% | $1.89B | -29.9% | — |
| BTC Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust ETF | 0.15% | $3.19B | -29.9% | — |
| BITB Bitwise Bitcoin ETF Trust | 0.2% | $2.13B | -30.0% | — |
| BRRR Coinshares Valkyrie Bitcoin Fund | 0% | $342.4M | -30.0% | — |
| BTCO Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF | 0.25% | $315.9M | -30.0% | — |
Compared head to head: FBTC vs IBIT · all comparisons →
Questions investors ask
Does IBIT pay dividends?
No. No distributions have been recorded for IBIT. Its main holding, bitcoin, pays no interest or dividends and has no earnings. Any return comes only from changes in bitcoin's price, minus the 0.25% annual sponsor fee. Retirees who need income from this holding would have to cash in shares at whatever price the market offers at the time.
What's the difference between IBIT and FBTC?
Very little in what they own. IBIT and Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) both hold bitcoin directly, and both charge a 0.25% annual fee. The clearest differences are sponsor and size. IBIT, from a BlackRock subsidiary, held $43.4 billion as of June 30, 2026, versus about $10.3 billion for FBTC. One-year results were close: a 28.2% loss for IBIT through October 30, 2026, and a 30% loss for FBTC through October 27, 2026.
How has IBIT performed since it launched?
Strongly at first, poorly since. IBIT gained 99.2% in 2024, from its January launch to year-end. It then lost 6.4% in 2025 and 12.7% in 2026 through October 30. That works out to an average gain of about 19% a year since launch, as of October 30, 2026, but a 28.2% loss over the prior year. Its deepest drop was 53.3%, from October 6, 2025 to June 30, 2026. It had not recovered by October 30, 2026.
Is IBIT safe for retirement savings?
No, not if safe means stable. IBIT's volatility, a gauge of price swings, was 45.6% over the year to October 30, 2026, and it once fell 53.3% from peak to low. It launched in January 2024, so it has no record from the 2008 financial crisis, 2020 COVID crash or 2022 bear market. It also pays no income. As a grantor trust, it lacks some protections that mutual funds and most ETFs offer. It may suit savers only as a small position they could afford to see halved.
Does IBIT hold real bitcoin?
Yes. IBIT holds bitcoin itself, not futures contracts. Coinbase Custody Trust Company keeps it in accounts separate from its own assets and its other clients' assets, apart from amounts held at times in a trading account at Coinbase, Inc. Anchorage Digital Bank is an additional custodian. Shareholders own shares traded on Nasdaq, not bitcoin in their own names. The bitcoin behind each share shrinks slightly over time, because the 0.25% fee is paid from the trust's bitcoin.