The ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (CBOE:ARKB) offers investors a straightforward proposition: direct, regulated exposure to Bitcoin’s price with no leverage, no options mechanics, and a competitive 0.21% expense ratio. The problem it solves is access. Before spot Bitcoin ETFs launched in January 2024, getting clean Bitcoin exposure inside a brokerage account meant dealing with futures-based products, trusts trading at premiums or discounts, or self-custody. ARKB removed all of that friction.
The fund’s recent performance reflects Bitcoin’s own sharp pullback. ARKB is down 22.6% year-to-date through February 20, nearly mirroring Bitcoin’s own 22.6% YTD decline. That tracking precision is the point of the fund, but it also means investors absorb every downside move without cushion. On Reddit, the mood around Bitcoin-adjacent names has turned decidedly negative. One post titled Gold Spiking vs. BTC tanking captured the sentiment well, with the author writing: “Gold spiking vs. BTC tanking”, a thread that drew 278 upvotes and 570 comments from investors wrestling with the divergence between the two assets.
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