Ark bitcoin ETF disclosure reveals planned fee of 0.95%

Ark bitcoin ETF disclosure reveals planned fee of 0.95%

Cathie Wood's Ark Invest has set the bar on bitcoin ETF fees, analysts say, after it became the first asset manager to reveal a fee for its proposed bitcoin ETF.

The manager plans to launch a fund that will hold and track the performance of bitcoin, according to a disclosure filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Ark 21Shares Bitcoin ETF will track the performance of bitcoin in US dollars, as measured by the performance of the S&P bitcoin Index, the filing shows. The ETF trust will also hold bitcoin, and it will trade on the Cboe BZX exchange, according to the filing.

So far, at least 11 other shops have disclosed plans to launch crypto ETFs, including Fidelity, First Trust and WisdomTree. The SEC has not yet approved any bitcoin ETFs.

Ark's disclosure reveals that the proposed ETF will pay the sponsor, Switzerland-based exchange-traded product provider 21Shares, a unified fee of 95 basis points. 21Shares will pay all operating expenses from that fee.

The ETF's expense ratio would be likely to match the sponsor fee, analysts said.

Wood is an investor and a board member of cryptocurrency platform Amun Holdings, which is the parent company of 21Shares.

"Given that any approved product would provide identical exposure to the commodity as others, asset manager brand