GBTC vs BTC Mini Trust: $135 a Year Fee Gap per $10,000

What is the difference between GBTC and the Bitcoin Mini Trust?

Both are Grayscale spot bitcoin funds that hold bitcoin directly, so their daily returns before fees are nearly identical. The lasting difference is price. GBTC, the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, charges a 1.50% sponsor fee, a holdover from its years as a closed-end trust before it converted to an ETF in January 2024. The Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust, ticker BTC, charges 0.15%, which Grayscale's own marketing filing with the SEC (data as of February 28, 2026) sets against 0.25% for BlackRock's IBIT.

The Mini Trust was not a fresh fund. It was carved out of GBTC: GBTC contributed bitcoin equal to 10% of its holdings to the new trust, and GBTC shareholders on the July 30, 2024 record date received Mini Trust shares, which began trading on NYSE Arca on July 31, 2024, per Grayscale's SEC filings and The Block. The Mini Trust later completed a 1-for-5 reverse share split in November 2024, per its 10-K.

The full fee table for all twelve spot funds is in our Bitcoin ETF list.

Should I switch from GBTC to BTC?

On cost alone, yes: the gap is 1.35 percentage points a year, or $135 on every $10,000 held, and it is deducted from the fund's assets every day whether bitcoin rises or falls. Over five years that is roughly $675 per $10,000 before any compounding. You keep the same sponsor, the same custodial setup and the same asset, so the switch does not change your bitcoin exposure.

The case is cleanest when the sale costs nothing in tax:

• In an IRA, 401(k) or other tax-advantaged account. Selling GBTC and buying BTC inside the account triggers no capital gains tax, so there is little reason to keep paying 1.50%.
• In a taxable account with a small gain or a loss. The tax bill is small or zero, and a loss can be realized.
• For new money. There is no reason to add to GBTC rather than the Mini Trust or another low-fee fund.

The one practical cost is the trade itself: two bid-ask spreads and any market move between the sell and the buy. Both funds trade close to net asset value through the creation and redemption process, explained in our guide to NAV premiums and discounts, so selling and buying in the same session keeps that slippage small.

Is switching from GBTC to the Mini Trust a taxable event?

Selling GBTC in a taxable account is a sale like any other: you realize the gain or loss against your cost basis. Long-held GBTC bought at low prices can carry a large gain, and at the common 15% federal long-term capital gains rate (IRS Topic 409), that bill can outweigh years of fee savings.

A rough break-even: a $10,000 GBTC position with a $6,000 long-term gain owes about $900 in federal tax at 15% to switch, which the $135 annual fee saving takes about 6.7 years to repay, before state tax and before the position grows. A holder with a $1,000 gain owes about $150 and is ahead after about 13 months.

The Mini Trust shares that GBTC holders received in July 2024 were a different case: Grayscale's filings said the distribution itself was not expected to be taxable for GBTC or its shareholders, with part of each holder's existing GBTC basis allocated to the new shares. Rules on selling at a loss and buying a similar fund (the wash-sale rule) and your own basis allocation are questions for a tax adviser; our crypto ETF tax guide covers the basics.

What Pre-Tick's data shows about GBTC and BTC

Investors are still making this switch, one way or another. In Pre-Tick's flows table, synced from SoSoValue, GBTC posted -$290.2 million of net outflows across the 29 trading days from September 8 to October 16, while the Mini Trust took in a net +$14.3 million. The rest of the GBTC money left for other funds or the category altogether, so the Mini Trust is not the only destination, but the direction has not changed since 2024: money leaves the 1.50% fund.

For anyone watching the switch on the day, the open is predictable for both. Across the 60 sessions from July 24 to October 16, Pre-Tick's pre-market estimate landed a median 0.059% from GBTC's official 9:30 open and 0.043% from BTC's, versus roughly 0.9% for the naive prior-close guess (accuracy). The live fee, size and flow numbers sit side by side on GBTC vs BTC, and this week's fund-by-fund flows are in the Bitcoin ETF flows hub. This is market analysis, not investment or tax advice.