iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT)

Buying IBIT through a broker gives you a security issued by a separate trust. The share represents an interest in its net assets: assets after subtracting liabilities. It is not BlackRock company stock or BTC you can send in a Bitcoin transaction. A broker is an intermediary for securities trading. Check the product name and IBIT ticker, its short trading symbol, on NASDAQ and in the documents. Whether your broker permits the purchase depends on your account and local conditions. [1] [2]

The product is backed mainly by bitcoin it actually holds. This differs from a futures ETF using contracts for future settlement rather than the same direct-holding mechanism. In our liability-free example, 100 BTC correspond to 100 000 shares, or 0.001 BTC per share. This is not IBIT’s current holdings and does not mean the ratio stays fixed forever. Costs and changes in assets or share count can affect it. It is also an economic interest: you do not receive a key to a particular part of a bitcoin wallet. [1]

The prospectus dated 31 July 2025, a document explaining how the product works, names iShares Delaware Trust Sponsor LLC as sponsor. Here “sponsor” means the entity responsible for running the product, not a donor. Coinbase Custody Trust Company is the bitcoin custodian, while Anchorage Digital Bank is an available alternative custodian. Naming both does not require equal asset allocation. At that date, the prospectus reported custody with the former and no then-current plan to transfer assets to the latter. This is a dated statement, not a live wallet breakdown. Custodians control the managed BTC keys, not individual shareholders. [1]

NAV is net asset value per share. In our example it is 40 USD, while a buyer pays 40.20 USD on the exchange. The 0.20 USD difference is a premium of 0.5 % above NAV. That premium is not an earned return: it is the gap between the price paid and the calculated value. IBIT values bitcoin using a reference measure, a benchmark, with specified timing rules. Supply and demand meanwhile set the exchange price. Compare the same period and currency, and do not confuse the share price with the price of a whole BTC. [1] [2]

Direct creations and redemptions are for eligible Authorized participants, or APs: institutions with contractual access to the product. The cited prospectus uses baskets of 40 000 shares. Consideration can be cash or bitcoin, in-kind. The SEC, the US securities regulator, permitted this in-kind mechanism in July 2025. Owning 40 000 shares alone does not make you an AP. An ordinary investor therefore has no automatic right to exchange a share for BTC sent to their own address; they generally sell the investment on the exchange. [1] [4]

The product page checked on 19 October 2026 lists an annual sponsor fee of 0.25 %. For scale, that annual rate on an unchanging base of 10 000 USD would equal 25 USD. Actual cost depends on changing asset value and the holding period. The prospectus specifies daily accrual and payment at least quarterly in arrears; recognising the expense and paying it are not two separate fees. Some other expenses can remain with the trust. Payments from its assets can gradually reduce BTC per share. The rate is a cost, not interest paid to investors or a promise of profit. [1] [2]

BTC trades even while the stock exchange is closed. For IBIT, access depends on NASDAQ trading hours and your broker’s services. If bitcoin’s price moves substantially meanwhile, the next share quote can jump; the last displayed price is not reserved for your sale. A closed or halted market does not guarantee an immediate sale. Also watch bid–ask, the gap between the best buying and selling quotes. When counterparties are harder to find, that gap can widen. [1]

IBIT is not an investment company registered under the 1940 Act in the United States. It therefore does not have the same regulatory framework as funds registered under that law; this does not put it outside all regulation. The SEC’s January 2024 permission for spot bitcoin product trading promised neither investment quality nor the safety of a particular custody arrangement. Falling BTC prices, lost keys or service outages can harm share value. A familiar brand helps identify a product, but its current prospectus and subsequent documents explain the risks. [1] [3]