Blackrock drops ETF fee to just 0.12% for first $5B in assets, 0.25% ongoing

Blackrock

has dropped its ongoing fee for its proposed spot Bitcoin ETF to just 0.25% with a promotional offer of 0.12% for the first $5 billion in assets, or twelve months, in an updated S1 filing submitted early Jan. 10.

“The Sponsor’s Fee is accrued daily at an annualized rate equal to 0.25% of the net asset value of the Trust and is payable at least quarterly in arrears in U.S. dollars or in-kind or any combination thereof. For a twelve-month period commencing on the day the Shares are initially listed on NASDAQ, the Sponsor will waive a portion of the Sponsor’s Fee so that the Sponsor’s Fee after the fee waiver will be equal to 0.12% of the net asset value of the Trust for the first $5.0 billion of the Trust’s assets.”

The move comes as a race to the bottom heats up, with several asset managers lowering their fees over the course of the week. Blackrock had filed for a 0.3% fee with 0.2% for the first $5 billion or twelve months.

Ark Invest updated its application today also, lowering its fee to 0.21%, putting Bitwise at the lowest with 0.2%, as Bloomberg’s Eric Balchunas confirmed.

With approval still pending from the SEC, a decision is expected before Thursday, as several asset managers are expecting to be able to begin trading on Jan. 11.

However, the decision has become slightly more complicated after the SEC’s X account was “compromised” late Jan. 9, claiming that the SEC had already given its approval. While SEC Chair Gary Gensler later denied the validity of the post, some are now concerned this could lead to a delay in the ETF approvals pending an investigation. As of press time, nothing has been confirmed around any delay in the decision.

Update: Added Ark revised fee.