Spot ETFs offer an easier and cheaper way to invest in bitcoin
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It’s cheaper than ever to buy bitcoin.
After 10 years of rejections, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday approved 11 applications for bitcoin exchange-traded funds submitted by some of the biggest asset managers in the world, including BlackRock and Fidelity. In many cases, investors will pay lower fees than they would if they bought the digital currency from a crypto exchange directly.
Instead of having to go to an asset exchange such as Kraken, Binance or Coinbase to purchase and hold a token like bitcoin, traders can now turn to a so-called spot bitcoin ETF for direct exposure to the digital asset market. An ETF allows investors to buy a product that tracks the price of bitcoin through the same mechanism they already use to buy stock and bond index funds. This also eliminates the burden of managing their holdings, which typically involves maintaining a cryptocurrency wallet and cold storage to safeguard that investment.
More than 52 million Americans own crypto today, but industry participants are hopeful that the slew of approvals will draw in new retail and institutional investors who have been waiting on the sidelines until traditional financial firms offered an alternative on-ramp to crypto.
“Imagine what will happen once ETFs are introduced and widely available,” Coinbase Chief Operating Officer Emilie Choi said on the company’s most recent earnings call in November. “RIAs, retirement funds, and other institutions that have been precluded from this asset class historically will gain access to crypto for the first time, and that’s very powerful.”
Prior to Wednesday’s approval, the $30 trillion advised wealth management industry in the U.S. had been mostly locked out from accessing the crypto asset class.
Traders are now flush with options for direct exposure to bitcoin, and institutional players are racing to get in the game. In the runup to the SEC’s ultimate decision to approve spot bitcoin ETF applications, many issuers began slashing fees, as recently highlighted by CNBC’s Bob Pisani. The fees are calculated as a percentage of the holdings.
Coinbase’s transaction fee varies, with a max of 0.6% on transactions up to $10,000 in value. In the company’s most recent quarterly earnings call, Choi said Coinbase doesn’t plan to reduce transaction fees even with the emergence of cheaper ETFs. The transaction charges on Coinbase vary between its Pro platform and the retail app, where fees are higher. For retail transactions up to $1,000, the fee ranges between 1.5% and 3%.
ARK, Invesco, Fidelity, WisdomTree and Valkyrie are all offering deals that involve fee-free trading for a certain period of time. Others are opting for discounted fees.
Among spot ETFs, the only one with a fee above 1% is Grayscale Investments, which is charging 1.5%.
The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, or GBTC, has a few favorable characteristics. Most notably, it has been trading since 2015 as a closed-end fund.
“GBTC was something of a monopoly — they had investors stuck in GBTC paying 2% fees,” said Bryan Armour, director of passive strategies research for North America at Morningstar, a provider of investment research.
Though approval of multiple spot bitcoin ETFs translates to increased fee competition and a way out for current GBTC investors, many traders would take a capital gains tax hit if they exited their GBTC position to purchase another ETF.
Whether the appetite for spot bitcoin ETFs is overblown is another key concern among investors.
Research firm Bernstein, which billed the new spot ETFs as the “largest pipe ever built between traditional financial markets and crypto financial markets,” expects momentum to build slowly.
Analysts with JPMorgan and Mizuho have also cautioned that investor appetite might not be there.
Unlike other commodities that are difficult to own directly, such as a barrel of oil or a gold bar, bitcoin is easier to own.
JPMorgan analysts wrote in a note to investors on Nov. 21 that they see gold ETFs as the most apt gauge for a cryptocurrency ETF outlook.
“Gold ETFs are currently 1.4% of above ground (investible) gold,” the JPMorgan analysts wrote. “We believe that the cryptocurrency markets are pricing in an optimistic impact from Bitcoin ETFs that is likely to fall short of expectations.”
— CNBC’s Jordan Smith contributed to this report.
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The US Department of Energy (DOE) today announced $1.2 billion in financing to replace Puerto Rico’s fossil fuel plants with solar and battery storage through 2032.
The DOE’s Loan Programs Office announced two conditional commitments and one loan closing to power producers in Puerto Rico. Each supports a project contracted with the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority. The announcements include:
- The closing of a $584.5 million loan guarantee to subsidiaries of Convergent Energy to finance a 100 MW solar farm with a 55 MW (55 MWh) battery energy storage system (BESS) in the municipality of Coamo and BESS installations in the municipalities of Caguas (25MW/100MWh), Peñuelas (100MW/400MWh), and Ponce (up to 100MW/400MWh)
- A conditional commitment for a loan guarantee of up to $133.6 million to a subsidiary of Infinigen for a 32.1 MW solar farm with an integrated 14.45 MW (4.76 MWh) BESS, and a co-located standalone 50 MW (200 MWh) BESS expansion in the municipality of Yabucoa
- A conditional commitment for a loan guarantee of up to $489.4 million to a subsidiary of Pattern Energy for three stand-alone BESS in the municipalities of Arecibo (50 MW/200 MWh), and Santa Isabel (50 MW /200 MWh and 80 MW/320 MW), and a 70 MW solar farm with an integrated BESS in the municipality of Arecibo.
If all are finalized, these projects would more than double LPO’s support for utility-scale solar generation and battery energy storage in Puerto Rico.
LPO provides low-cost financing and a rigorous due diligence process, making it a valuable resource for Puerto Rico as it works to rebuild an affordable, reliable, and clean energy system. As a result of reliance on imported fuel, the persistent threat of tropical storms, and underinvested infrastructure, Puerto Ricans today face average energy costs that are twice the US average – all while consuming only one-quarter of the energy of the US per capita.
LPO’s initial loan to a power producer in Puerto Rico, Project Marahu, closed in October 2024, and when complete will add more than 200 MW of solar and up to 285 MW of stand-alone energy storage to Puerto Rico’s grid.
Through its September 2023 partial loan guarantee to Project Hestia, LPO also supports virtual power plant (VPP)-ready rooftop solar and battery storage installations in Puerto Rico. As a nationwide project, Hestia’s sponsor is committed to at least 20% of installations under Project Hestia going to homeowners in Puerto Rico.
As part of its procurement plan, Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority seeks to install 1,500 MW of battery storage and requires a minimum capacity of storage to be co-located with each utility-scale solar project. Energy storage systems currently online in Puerto Rico are being dispatched every day.
When including Marahu, LPO’s closed and conditionally committed financing supports over 100% of the capacity Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority aimed to procure under its initial request for energy storage project proposals, the first of six.
Read more: Cleantech investments to top fossil fuels for the first time in 2025
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Chevy just introduced new deals on the Equinox and Blazer EV models to make them even more affordable. With 0% interest and a new trade-in bonus, Chevy is offering over $5,000 in savings.
Chevy adds new Equinox and Blazer EV deals in January
Although the Chevy Equinox EV is already “the most affordable” EV in its class with over 315 miles range, it’s getting even cheaper.
Earlier this week, Chevy launched new deals on the 2024 Equinox and Blazer EV models. According to a note sent to dealers, viewed by CarsDirect, the electric SUVs are now available with 0% APR financing for 60 months. You can also choose from 0.9% AP for 72 months and 2.9% APR for 84 months.
This marks the best financing offer on Chevy’s newest EVs to date. The previous best rates were 0.9% APR for 60 months, 3.9% for 72 months, and 5.9% for the longer 84-month option.
On a 7-year $45,000 loan, online auto research firm CarsDirect estimates the new deals amount to around a $5,200 price cut. The lower APR rates are already offered on the Chevrolet Silverado EV pickup.
In addition, Chevy is offering a trade-in bonus of up to $3,000 on the Silverado EV and $1,000 on the electric Equinox and Blazer models. If you choose to lease, the bonus is cut in half: $1,500 for the Silverado and $500 for the electric SUVs.
Chevy’s new EV deals started on January 14 and run through March 3, 2025. The deals come as rivals like Hyundai and Ford recently launched new EV promotions.
On Thursday, Hyundai launched a new promo on the upgraded 2025 IONIQ 5, which includes monthly leases as low as $199 and a free ChargePoint home EV charger (or $400 charging credit). Meanwhile, Ford extended its “Power Promise” program earlier this month, which also includes a free home charger, among several other benefits.
The 2024 Chevy Equinox EV started at $41,900 with up to 315 miles range. Prices for the electric Chevy Blazer start at $43,690 with up to 279 miles range.
If you are ready to try out Chevy’s new electric SUVs for yourself, we’ve got you covered. You can use our links below to view offers on the Chevy Equinox, Silverado, and Blazer EV models near you.
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In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss non-Tesla EVs getting Supercharger access, Cybertruck sales in the spotlight, Rivian getting some money from Biden, and more.
The show is live every Friday at 4 p.m. ET on Electrek’s YouTube channel.
As a reminder, we’ll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in.
After the show ends at around 5 p.m. ET, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps:
We now have a Patreon if you want to help us avoid more ads and invest more in our content. We have some awesome gifts for our Patreons and more coming.
Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the podcast:
Here’s the live stream for today’s episode starting at 4:00 p.m. ET (or the video after 5 p.m. ET):
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