I think you're over thinking it.

There are two options.

1. Direct ownership. Learn and Control the wallet, choose the coin, own the risk and decisions, pay cgt etc.

2. Indirect ownership. Delegate all of that to an ETF provider. Recieve a tax report that you hand off to tax agent (as you already do for share ownership).

So... make lots of choices or few choices... is the choice.

I hope that helps.

@reddogaustin Thank you very much. That does help.

Simple is good.

Cheers

I would say the best option currently is a US-domiciled ETF, so if you are willing to complete quarterly W-8BEN forms then I would recommend HODL or IBIT

HODL - VanEck Bitcoin ETF. No management fee until 10 January 2026 or $2.5B AUM (Currently $1.5B). 0.20% management fee after that time. Reputable provider.

IBIT - iShares Bitcoin Trust run by BlackRock. Biggest Bitcoin ETF with $59B AUM. 0.25% management fee. Also very reputable.

If you're not willing / able to invest in US stocks, then the three Aussie options are VBTC, EBTC & IBTC

VBTC - 0.49% management fee and $200m AUM. Holds shares in US ETF rather than actual bitcoin itself

EBTC - 0.59% management fee and $210m AUM. Trades on CBOE rather than the ASX

IBTC - 0.50% management fee and $38m AUM. Also trades on CBOE rather than the ASX.

If you have to choose an Aussie option, VBTC is fine, just not an ideal structure or AUM yet.

Hope that helps!

@Dangles Great information

That helps a lot

thank you

For anyone who just wants plain vanilla exposure to Bitcoin to express a bullish view, VBTC should more than do the job. In fact, before VBTC existed, I had a position in IBIT which I closed out to add to VBTC (though I should have held in hindsight with Bitcoin going on a good run post-US election).

@thunderhead You have worded that beautifully. Vanilla exposure is all I have the space for in my little brain just now.

Brilliant. Thank you

I added to my position near the lows today. It's back into a range it occupied and pulled back to on quite a few occasions after the post-election rally, so these levels *should* hold as support.

Hey, maybe I'm finally getting good at this reading-tea-leaves-and-timing-the-market caper after all!

*cue big crash*

Now you've done it @thunderhead... ;)

@thunderhead wrote: "For anyone who just wants plain vanilla exposure to Bitcoin to express a bullish view, VBTC should more than do the job. In fact, before VBTC existed, I had a position in IBIT which I closed out to add to VBTC (though I should have held in hindsight with Bitcoin going on a good run post-US election)."

I'm new to these Bitcoin ETF's - just wondering Thunderhead, what is the advantage of VBTC over IBIT please?

Hi @RogueTrader there is also EBTC (Global X 21Shares Bitcoin ETF), which is a direct spot BTC ETF and holds directly in Australia via Coinbase. As I understand, VBTC is a feeder fund that invests in US-based VanEck Bitcoin Trust (HODL), which holds the BTC in Gemini. As such EBTC should more closely track bitcoins AUD price - VBTC could have small tracking misalignment due to AUD/USD conversions. The only thing is that EBTC trades on the CBOE so a little harder to find and track it via google or even here, while VBTC is on the ASX. Both have same management fee 0.45%. I thought IBIT was US domiciled??

Hi @SayWhatAgain yes the main Aussie Bitcoin ETFs seem to be VBTC, EBTC and IBTC, while the most popular US ones currently appear to be IBIT, FBTC and BITB. Someone on SM mentioned that if you buy a US ETF then you need to fill out US tax forms - can anyone confirm if this is correct? And if so, is this the main reason for preferring the Aussie ETFs?

I use EBTC as it was the first, well, the first that I knew of, Spot Bitcoin ETF in Australia. It was up and running well before the US offerings. As it's iShares (aka backed by BlackRock) and fully audited to Australian standards, it gives me the degree of comfort I'm looking for.

In terms of the tax form, if you hold any US securities, it’s the W-8BEN form, which allows the American entity you’re investing through to only tax you ~15% on dividends (even when dividends are not paid, most companies still ask for this as part of their compliance obligations) . In turn, that taxable amount can be claimed as a deduction on your Australian tax return. To confirm, you don’t need to worry about the form if you're using an Australian domiciled entity, it only applies if you're investing directly into the US.

As for why the Australian option over the American options... some would say 1 Bitcoin is 1 Bitcoin, so the fiat currency doesn’t matter. But if you're looking to spend some profits or otherwise convert into dollars at some stage, you might have a preference between USD and AUD. As I’ve been, and will continue to be, a very long-term holder, that doesn’t bother me too much, and US regulations (well, at the moment…) can be relied upon. EBTC uses Coinbase as the custodian, as do the main US ETFs, so no difference there. Although, there is a big difference in fees, US ETFs are much cheaper. All in all, I’m happy to hold EBTC...the fact I would have to pay CGT to change is a factor as well.

Thanks @BigStrawbs70 - I see with my broker (CMC) that I can buy US ETFs with zero brokerage, but when they convert my AUD into USD to make the trade for an ETC such as IBTC, the conversion costs me something like $350 AUD (comparing it to the rate listed on Finviz) on an AUD$50k purchase (so about seven times what I'd pay in brokerage to buy an Aussie ETF.) So I'm assuming that the AUD/USD conversion cost is why so many are preferring Aussie ETFs? (I note too that IBTC fees are now 0.25%, the same as IBIT. EBTC and VBTC are 0.45%.)

Apologies - I didn't see the tag here in time, but subsequent posters have done a great job already.

For mine, it is the FX and tax accounting frictions - it's far easier to hold a locally domiciled ETF with no currency frictions. IBIT otherwise is a solid vehicle to gain exposure to Bitcoin.