ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF

What they do

The Trust issues common shares of beneficial interest in 5,000-share Creation Baskets, created and redeemed in cash or bitcoin, and holds all bitcoin with Coinbase Custody Trust Company, BitGo Bank & Trust, Anchorage Digital Bank and BitGo New York Trust Company. It has no officers, directors or employees, is not registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, and is not a commodity pool under the Commodity Exchange Act. The Bank of New York Mellon serves as Administrator, Transfer Agent and Cash Custodian, ARK Investment Management is sub-adviser, and the Sponsor is managed and controlled by a wholly owned subsidiary of 21co Holdings Limited, whose ultimate parent is FalconX.

Revenue drivers

• Sponsor Fee on Trust NAV — The Trust pays a unitary Sponsor Fee of 0.21% of NAV, accrued daily and payable weekly in arrears in bitcoin; this is the Trust's primary recurring economic cost and the Sponsor's main revenue source.
• Fee waiver (ended) — The Sponsor waived the entire fee for a nine-month period beginning January 11, 2024, or until the first $1 billion of Trust assets; assets exceeded $1 billion in February 2024, ending the waiver.
• Creation and redemption activity — The Trust continuously issues and redeems 5,000-share Baskets in exchange for cash or bitcoin, which changes shares outstanding and the bitcoin held but is not itself a fee stream.
• Bitcoin price exposure — Because the Trust holds bitcoin and values shares off the pricing benchmark, changes in bitcoin's price drive net asset changes and reported income, which is the dominant swing factor in results.

Recent performance

Annual net income was $1.89 billion in 2024 but negative $222.3 million in 2025, a swing driven by bitcoin valuation and Trust expenses rather than operating changes. As of June 30, 2026, total assets and shareholder equity were both $1.89 billion, with total liabilities of only $74,000. The Trust reported just $100 of cash and equivalents as of December 31, 2023, reflecting that its assets are held in bitcoin rather than cash. No quarter-specific revenue or NAV figures were provided in the excerpts.

Strategy

The Trust is a passive vehicle that does not actively manage its bitcoin; the Sponsor's stated objective is to track the pricing benchmark, adjusted for expenses and liabilities. On June 30, 2026, the Sponsor gave notice to terminate the licensing agreement with the pricing benchmark provider effective August 31, 2026, and intends to enter a licensing agreement with FTSE on or about August 24, 2026 for index data used to develop, calculate and market the Trust. The Trust pays a 0.21% unitary Sponsor Fee and relies on a set of four bitcoin custodians plus BNY Mellon for administration and cash custody. Filings note competition from other spot bitcoin and digital-asset exchange-traded products and no assurance the Trust will reach or maintain an economically viable size.

Risks

• Bitcoin price volatility — The value of the Shares relates directly to bitcoin, whose price may be highly volatile, and reported net income swung from $1.89 billion in 2024 to negative $222.3 million in 2025.
• Custodian and private-key risk — Bitcoin is held by Coinbase Custody, BitGo, Anchorage and BitGo New York, and security threats to those accounts could halt Trust operations or cause loss of Trust assets.
• Irrevocable transactions and forks — Bitcoin transactions are irrevocable, so stolen or incorrectly transferred bitcoin may be irretrievable, and a temporary or permanent fork of the Bitcoin blockchain could adversely affect the Trust.
• Benchmark transition — The Sponsor terminated its pricing benchmark licensing agreement effective August 31, 2026 and intends to move to FTSE, introducing execution risk around the index used to value the Trust.

Outlook

Management states the Trust's objective is to track bitcoin as measured by its pricing benchmark, adjusted for expenses and liabilities, and describes it as a passive, non-leveraged vehicle. The filings disclose planned transition of benchmark licensing from the current provider to FTSE, with an agreement intended on or about August 24, 2026 following the August 31, 2026 termination. The Trust acknowledges competition from other spot bitcoin and digital-asset products and states there can be no assurance it will grow to or maintain an economically viable size.