VanEck Bitcoin Trust fund
Overview
HODL is the VanEck Bitcoin ETF (originally launched as the VanEck Bitcoin Trust), a US spot bitcoin exchange-traded product that VanEck launched at the start of 2024 alongside the first approved cohort of US spot bitcoin funds. It provides spot bitcoin exposure through a conventional brokerage-traded vehicle. Its fee schedule has been used aggressively as a competitive lever: from 25 November 2025 through 31 July 2026 the sponsor waives the entire Sponsor Fee for the first $2.5 billion of trust assets; if assets exceed $2.5 billion before 31 July 2026 the fee on the excess is 0.20%, and after 31 July 2026 the Sponsor Fee is 0.20% across the board. The issuer, VanEck, is a New York-headquartered manager founded by John van Eck in 1955 that built its reputation on gold and international investing before entering ETFs in 2006 with the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF. HODL launched at the start of 2024 with the first US spot bitcoin ETFs. VanEck has repeatedly extended and restructured its fee waiver, most recently running 25 November 2025 to 31 July 2026 on the first $2.5 billion of assets. Separately, in 2024 the SEC fined VanEck $175 million over undisclosed arrangements paying Dave Portnoy to promote an ETF.
Within the DeFi Intel graph, VanEck Bitcoin Trust connects to 7 tracked entities, most strongly to Bitcoin (BTC), SEC, VanEck.
Relations
Top connections in the DeFi Intel knowledge graph (confidence-weighted, 7 of 7 total).
| Relation | Connected entity | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
supports_token | Bitcoin (BTC) | 95% |
regulated_by | SEC | 95% |
owns | VanEck | 95% |
launched | VanEck | 95% |
issued_by | VanEck | 95% |
custodied_by | Gemini Trust Company | 90% |
event_of | VanEck HODL fee waiver extended to 2026-07-31 ($2.5B AUM cap) | 90% |
Frequently asked questions
What is VanEck Bitcoin Trust?
VanEck Bitcoin Trust is an etf tracked in the DeFi Intel knowledge graph. It is connected to 7 other tracked entities, most strongly to Bitcoin (BTC), SEC, VanEck.
What type of entity is VanEck Bitcoin Trust?
VanEck Bitcoin Trust is classified as an etf (fund) in the DeFi Intel knowledge graph.
What is VanEck Bitcoin Trust connected to?
In the DeFi Intel knowledge graph, VanEck Bitcoin Trust is linked to 7 other tracked entities, most strongly to Bitcoin (BTC), SEC, VanEck.
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