Bitcoin soared as the fee war began.

Now it’s a question of when, not if, a large group of Bitcoin spot ETF providers will be approved and able to start trading in the United States.
Late Monday, spot ETF applicants began filing outstanding 19b-4s on Friday after the market closed, and then posted them one by one on the SEC website. This process can take several days, and it’s a clear sign that the SEC is accelerating its work this week.
Just two days before the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is expected to approve one or more U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), potential issuers have finally revealed their fees.
ETF fee war begins
There are 13 ETFs awaiting SEC approval, and the fees they charge are the main way they compete with each other.
The one that charges the least is cryptocurrency-savvy fund manager Bitwise, which charges just 0.24% after a six-month fee waiver period. Ark, VanEck, and 21Shares are next with fees of 0.25%. Franklin’s is 0.29%.
BlackRock, the world’s largest asset management company, set its commission at 0.30%. This is much lower than many expected given BlackRock’s brand power and market size.

Source: Bloomberg
Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart wrote in “The Bitcoin ETF fee war has sharp elbows. These fees are very low and ETFs will trade ridiculously tight (penny wide bid-ask spreads) with no fees on most platforms.”
However, Grayscale, which plans to convert Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) into an ETF, has the highest fee of 1.5%. However, we have included a provision that the fee may be waived. Moreover, Grayscale already manages $28 billion in assets (AUM), while other applicants are starting from zero.
What is clear is that lower-than-expected fees are good news for investors and will put pressure on cryptocurrency exchange fees. US exchanges like Kraken and Coinbase will now compete with ETF providers, and for those looking to invest in Bitcoin, ETFs actually look very attractive.
Gary warns
Finally, today SEC Director Gary Gensler posted a thread about “You must understand that you may be deprived of key information and other important safeguards.”
“Investing in cryptocurrency assets can be very risky and often subject to high volatility,” Gensler said. Many major platforms and cryptocurrency assets have become insolvent or lost value. Investments in cryptocurrency assets continue to be subject to significant risk.”
“Scammers continue to take advantage of the rising popularity of cryptocurrency assets to lure retail investors into scams,” Gensler’s thread reads. “These investments are full of scams, including fake coin offerings, Ponzi and pyramid schemes, and outright theft where project promoters disappear with investors’ money.”
This thread is being interpreted as another sign that the SEC will indeed approve one or more ETFs this week.