What is a bitcoin ETF?
A bitcoin ETF is an exchange-traded product whose shares track the price of bitcoin; a spot bitcoin ETF holds the bitcoin itself through a custodian. The US SEC approved the first spot bitcoin ETFs on . EU fund rules do not list bitcoin as an eligible asset, and European exchanges list bitcoin notes (ETNs). German: Bitcoin-ETF, Bitcoin-ETN.
Published . Last reviewed .
Bitcoin ETFs in brief
| Term | Bitcoin ETF (exchange-traded fund), bitcoin ETP (exchange-traded product), bitcoin ETN (exchange-traded note). German: Bitcoin-ETF, Krypto-ETN |
|---|---|
| US approval | , SEC Release No. 34-99306: eleven spot bitcoin products on NYSE Arca, Nasdaq and Cboe BZX |
| EU fund law | Crypto-assets are no eligible asset class under Article 50(1) of the UCITS Directive (ESMA, ) |
| European form | Crypto ETNs: exchange-traded bearer bonds (BaFin) |
| Supervisors | SEC in the US; BaFin, FMA, FINMA in the DACH region |
| A number | 44% of all ETNs listed on Xetra in December 2025 referenced crypto-assets (BaFin) |
How does a bitcoin ETF work?
A bitcoin ETF works like any exchange-traded fund: investors buy and sell its shares on a stock exchange, and the price follows the value of what the fund holds. For a spot bitcoin ETF that holding is bitcoin. The US products approved in 2024 are trusts that list "Commodity-Based Trust Shares" or "Trust Units", and each trust holds its bitcoin through a bitcoin custodian (SEC, ).
The SEC order lists the commitments of the exchanges: each trust publishes its net asset value, and an intra-day indicative value is disseminated "every 15 seconds". Registered market makers quote the shares. The SEC also noted that "bitcoin custodians only hold keys to such bitcoin and not the bitcoin itself"; What is crypto custody? explains what that means.
Is a bitcoin ETF approved in the US?
Yes, spot bitcoin ETFs are approved in the US. On the SEC approved rule changes of three exchanges to list eleven spot bitcoin products, among them the iShares Bitcoin Trust, the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund, the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust and the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (Release No. 34-99306). SEC Chair Gary Gensler stated the same day that the SEC had approved the products and had not approved or endorsed bitcoin. He called bitcoin "primarily a speculative, volatile asset". He also noted that the D.C. Circuit had found the SEC "failed to adequately explain its reasoning" when it rejected the earlier Grayscale application.
Why is there no bitcoin UCITS in the EU?
A UCITS fund cannot hold bitcoin directly because the UCITS Directive does not list crypto-assets among the assets a UCITS may buy. Article 50(1) names transferable securities, money market instruments, units of other funds, deposits and financial derivatives. ESMA wrote on that "crypto-assets are not explicitly eligible for direct investments under the current UCITS framework". A UCITS that buys bitcoin notes instead meets a second limit: it may put no more than 5% of its assets in securities of the same issuer (Article 52(1)).
ESMA advised the European Commission to allow "limited indirect exposures (up to 10%) to alternative assets". It added that allowing direct investments in crypto-assets such as bitcoin might require broader changes to the directive.
What are bitcoin ETPs and crypto ETNs in Europe?
Bitcoin ETP is the umbrella term for any exchange-traded product on bitcoin, and in Germany BaFin describes crypto ETNs. BaFin gives the crypto ETN meaning: exchange-traded bearer bonds that track the performance of an underlying, in most cases bitcoin or an index of crypto-assets (BaFin, Risiken im Fokus 2026). Bitcoin ETPs in Germany trade on Xetra, where 44% of all listed ETNs referenced crypto-assets in December 2025. Issuers of physically backed ETNs hold the bitcoin with a custodian.
| Spot bitcoin ETF (US) | Crypto ETN (Europe) | Bitcoin held directly | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legal form | Trust shares | Bearer bond of the issuer | Crypto-asset |
| Investor owns | Shares in the trust | A claim against the issuer | The bitcoin |
| Keys held by | The trust's custodian | The issuer's custodian, if backed | The investor (self custody) or a crypto custodian |
| Law | US securities law | EU securities law; outside MiCA (Article 2(4)) | MiCA for service providers |
Crypto ETP vs ETF: an ETF is a fund, an ETN is a debt security of its issuer, and both are ETPs. Bitcoin ETF vs bitcoin: the investor in a product owns a security and no coins, and carries the risk of the product's issuer or custodian. This page gives no investment advice.
Bitcoin ETFs and ETNs in Germany, Austria and Switzerland
In Germany, crypto ETNs are bearer bonds and trade as securities. BaFin warns that the few specialized custodians behind physically backed ETNs rely on an even smaller number of key service providers, so one failure could hit many ETNs at the same time. In Austria, EU securities law applies to ETNs, and the FMA is the competent authority for crypto-asset service providers under the MiCA-VVG.
Switzerland is outside the EU. FINMA covers crypto ETPs together with structured products under Article 70 of the Financial Services Act and states that the collateral behind them needs legal protection in the insolvency of the custodian. SIX Swiss Exchange and BX Swiss have their own listing rules for crypto ETPs and their collateral (FINMA Guidance 01/2026, ). This page gives no legal advice.
Sources
- Securities and Exchange Commission: Release No. 34-99306, order granting accelerated approval to list and trade bitcoin-based commodity-based trust shares and trust units,
- Securities and Exchange Commission: Statement on the Approval of Spot Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Products, Chair Gary Gensler,
- European Union: Directive 2009/65/EC on undertakings for collective investment in transferable securities (UCITS),
- ESMA: Final Report on the Technical Advice on the review of the UCITS Eligible Assets Directive,
- BaFin: Risiken im Fokus 2026: Digitalisierung, read on
- European Union: Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 on markets in crypto-assets,
- Austria: MiCA-Verordnung-Vollzugsgesetz, BGBl. I Nr. 111/2024
- FINMA: Guidance 01/2026, Custody of cryptobased assets,