VanEck’s HODL ETF Ends Zero-Fee Period; 0.20% Fee Starts

VanEck’s Bitcoin ETF, trading as HODL, ended its zero-sponsor-fee waiver on July 31 after the fund reported $1.076 billion in net assets as of July 30. The waiver had covered the first $2.5 billion of trust assets; the fund fell $1.424 billion short of that threshold. A 0.20% annual sponsor fee applies to all trust assets beginning Aug. 1.

The waiver covered only the first $2.5 billion of assets through July 31. If the fund had exceeded that level before the deadline, only the amount above $2.5 billion would have been charged, producing a weighted sponsor fee. VanEck filed its most recent extension on Nov. 25, 2025, replacing an earlier Jan. 10, 2026 date and did not file another extension before the waiver expired.

At $1.076 billion in assets, a 0.20% sponsor fee would generate about $2.15 million in annual sponsor income if assets remain unchanged. For an investor, that sponsor charge equals roughly $20 a year for every $10,000 invested. Sponsor fees are separate from investor-level costs such as brokerage commissions, bid-ask spreads, taxes and any premium or discount to net asset value.

On recurring sponsor fees, HODL’s 0.20% rate matches the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF, sits below the iShares Bitcoin Trust’s 0.25% fee and is one basis point above the Franklin Bitcoin ETF’s 0.19% fee. Because the waiver ended on a calendar date rather than by hitting the cap, HODL will be compared directly with those funds on ongoing sponsor fees.

Flow data from a market tracker shows HODL recorded net outflows of $87.6 million across 169 trading sessions from Nov. 25 through July 30. On July 30 the fund drew $2.3 million in inflows, about 0.99% of the $233.1 million in net inflows across tracked U.S. spot-Bitcoin products that day. The same tracker lists HODL’s cumulative net inflows at $1.146 billion, a different measure from net assets; net assets move with Bitcoin’s market price and reflect creations, redemptions and expenses.

VanEck reported the $1.076 billion asset figure as of July 30. Because assets remained below the $2.5 billion waiver cap through the final waiver day, the zero-fee period concluded on schedule and the 0.20% sponsor fee now applies to the entire trust.