Spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund with a 0.21% management fee and multi-custodian cold storage
ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) is a spot bitcoin exchange-traded product listed on the Cboe BZX Exchange. It provides retail and institutional investors with direct exposure to bitcoin price movements within standard brokerage and tax-advantaged retirement accounts, avoiding the need to hold private keys or manage exchange wallets.
The fund is sponsored and operated by 21Shares US LLC, an affiliate of European crypto ETP issuer 21Shares. Ark Investment Management LLC, founded and led by Cathie Wood, acts as the sub-advisor. Foreside Global Services LLC serves as the marketing agent, while Resolute Investment Distributors, Inc. handles sales services.
ARKB holds physical bitcoin rather than derivatives. Its custody is diversified across three qualified institutional custodians: Anchorage Digital Bank N.A., BitGo Bank & Trust, N.A., and Coinbase Custody International, Ltd. The bitcoin is stored entirely in segregated offline cold storage. To compute its daily net asset value (NAV), the trust tracks the FTSE Bitcoin Index, which acts as the pricing benchmark.
The fund carries a unitary management fee of 0.21% per year, which covers all standard operational and custodial costs. ARKB trades on the Cboe BZX Exchange under the ticker ARKB. It is available to investors in the United States through equity brokerages and self-directed retirement platforms, subject to standard broker account registration.
ARKB launched on January 10, 2024, alongside the initial cohort of approved US spot bitcoin funds. On August 27, 2026, the trust shifted its pricing benchmark from the CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate (New York Variant) to the FTSE Bitcoin Index. As of October 2026, the fund holds approximately $2.5B in net assets under management across 92.89 million shares outstanding. Effective December 15, 2026, the fund is scheduled to undergo a name and ticker change.
ARKB is an exchange-traded grantor trust and is not registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, meaning it lacks the specific regulatory protections granted to traditional open-end mutual funds. Investors cannot redeem their fund shares for physical bitcoin directly. While the multi-custodian architecture spreads counterparty risk, investors remain exposed to bitcoin spot market volatility, tracking discrepancies between secondary market pricing and NAV, and long-term fee compounding.
ARKB provides multi-custodian spot bitcoin exposure with a competitive 0.21% fee, but investors cannot redeem real coins and face an upcoming ticker change.
ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) is a spot bitcoin exchange-traded product listed on the Cboe BZX Exchange. Launched on January 10, 2024, the fund tracks the FTSE Bitcoin Index to reflect spot price performance after subtracting its 0.21% annual management fee. It is sponsored by 21Shares US LLC and sub-advised by Ark Investment Management LLC.
By October 2026, the fund managed roughly $2.50B in net assets across 92,895,000 shares outstanding. Rather than relying on a single custodian, ARKB stores its underlying bitcoin in cold storage across three qualified custodians: Anchorage Digital Bank N.A., BitGo Bank & Trust, N.A., and Coinbase Custody International, Ltd. This structural diversification reduces counterparty concentration risk compared to funds tied exclusively to one custodian.
The product presents clear trade-offs common to grantor-style trusts:
ARKB suits standard brokerage and tax-advantaged account holders who require direct spot exposure without managing private keys or hardware wallets. Investors seeking native blockchain utility, such as personal self-custody or staking yields, must hold native assets directly instead.
| Ticker | ARKB |
|---|---|
| Issuer | 21shares |
| Holds | Bitcoin · unverified |
| Structure | Spot ETF · unverified |
| Expense ratio | 0.21% · unverified |
| Assets under management | $2.5B · unverified |
| Listed on | Cboe BZX · unverified |
| Launch date | 2024-01-10 · unverified |
| Custodian | Anchorage Digital Bank N.A., BitGo Bank & Trust, N.A., Coinbase Custody International, Ltd · unverified |
| Stakes its holdings | No · unverified |
| Market | United States · unverified |
Not disclosed by the provider: Fee waiver, Options available.
Data from the provider's website and public sources. Fees and availability change; confirm on the official site before you sign up.
Holds physical bitcoin directly in segregated cold storage rather than using futures contracts.
Safeguards assets across three qualified custodians: Anchorage Digital Bank, BitGo Bank & Trust, and Coinbase Custody International.
Calculates its daily NAV using the FTSE Bitcoin Index as the primary pricing benchmark.
Trades under the ticker ARKB on the Cboe BZX Exchange for cash and tax-advantaged accounts.
Applies a single 0.21% annual management fee that covers operational and storage expenses.
Displays current fund statistics including net asset value per share, total assets under management, and shares outstanding.
Presents cumulative and annualized returns across varying time horizons alongside the fund's pricing benchmark.
Tracks historical deviations between the daily market closing price and the fund's reported net asset value.
Lists fund portfolio details including share count, market valuation, and asset weighting.
Summarizes structural product facts such as primary exchange, identifier codes, custodian partners, and expense ratio.
Houses regulatory filings and legal disclosure documents including Form 10-K, Form 10-Q, and current 8-K reports.
There is currently no user feedback available specifically evaluating the product.
Based on 1 Reddit posts and comments from the last 12 months, checked Oct 26, 2026. These are posts by users on other sites, not reviews submitted on CryptoReview.
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21Shares US LLC serves as the sponsor and operator, while Ark Investment Management LLC, led by founder, CEO, and CIO Cathie Wood, acts as the sub-advisor.
ARKB charges a unitary 0.21% annual management fee covering ordinary operational and custodial expenses.
The underlying bitcoin is held in cold storage across three qualified custodians: Anchorage Digital Bank N.A., BitGo Bank & Trust, N.A., and Coinbase Custody International, Ltd.
ARKB trades on the Cboe BZX Exchange under the ticker ARKB through traditional brokerage and retirement accounts.
No, retail investors can only buy and sell cash-settled shares on the secondary market. Physical creation and redemption are restricted to authorized participants.
The fund is scheduled to undergo an official name and ticker change effective December 15, 2026, requiring no direct action from existing shareholders.
Recent public posts from @21shares_us, shown as published. Not reviewed or endorsed by CryptoReview.
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