VanEck seeds potential spot bitcoin ETF with $72.5 million, while Bitwise lines up $200 million of interest

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Quick Take

  • Spot bitcoin ETF applicant VanEck has seeded its potential ETF with $72.5 million.
  • The detail was contained within its amended S-1 form filed today.

Prospective spot bitcoin ETF issuers revealed new details about initial funding amounts in the latest round of amended forms that came in early Monday.

Investment firm VanEck has taken the lead with direct investment, noting that it has seeded its potential spot bitcoin ETF with $72.5 million, according to its amended S-1 form.

Bitwise has seeded its proposed ETF with $500,000, according to its amended S-1 form, but Pantera Capital has also said that it is interested in putting $200 million into the fund if approved. That carried a disclaimer that it's an indication of interest and not legally binding.

BlackRock has seeded its potential spot bitcoin ETF with $10 million, according to its amended S-1 form.

Final details

The amended S-1 forms also provided final details regarding respective fee structures. Multiple providers are offering zero fees for a limited amount of time, with Bitwise offering the lowest fixed fee of 0.24%. Ark/21Shares was right behind it at 0.25%, and BlackRock was not far off at 0.3%.

On Jan. 5, VanEck pledged 5% of its potential profits from its spot bitcoin ETF to Bitcoin core developers at Brink. It also made an initial $10,000 donation to Brink to support its work.


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© 2025 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

AUTHOR

Tim Copeland is the Head of Growth at The Block and host of The Crypto Beat, a live-streaming podcast. He was previously the company's Editor-in-Chief and spent seven years covering the industry as a journalist. Prior to joining The Block, Tim was a news editor at Decrypt. He earned a bachelor's degree in philosophy from the University of York and studied news journalism at Press Association Training. Follow him on X @Timccopeland.

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