Key Takeaways
- • Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) charges a 0.25% annual sponsor fee on prior-day Bitcoin holdings, with gross and net expense ratios both at 0.25%, and the sponsor may waive fees at its discretion.
- • The fund reported approximately $13.87 billion in month-end net assets as of Aug. 31, 2026, and a 30-day median bid-ask spread of 0.04% as of Sep. 24, 2026, per Fidelity Institutional data.
- • Fidelity Digital Assets, N.A., an affiliate of the sponsor, is the primary custodian and held all fund bitcoin per the June 30, 2026 financial report, while BitGo Bank & Trust, N.A. is an additional custodian with no disclosed bitcoin balance.
- • Custody liability terms are the weakest pillar in the publisher's rating: the custodian's liability for a safekeeping loss generally requires gross negligence or more serious misconduct, and BitGo's ordinary-negligence liability is capped at three months' fees.
- • Retail shareholders cannot redeem FBTC shares for bitcoin; only authorized participants can create or redeem 25,000-share baskets in cash or bitcoin.
Summary
CryptoSlate's review of the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) describes a Delaware statutory trust listed on Cboe BZX that holds spot bitcoin and seeks to track its price after fund expenses and liabilities. The fund was issued by FD Funds Management LLC, a Fidelity Investments entity, with an issuer-reported inception date of January 10, 2024 and first exchange trading on January 11, 2024. The trust is treated as a grantor trust for U.S. federal income tax purposes and is not registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Its benchmark is the Fidelity Bitcoin Reference Rate, a volume-weighted median price drawn from eligible Bitcoin market trades.
The fund's costs are straightforward. The sponsor fee is 0.25% annually, accrued daily on the prior day's bitcoin holdings net of liabilities and payable monthly, with taxes and certain extraordinary expenses charged in addition. According to the review, Fidelity reports a 30-day median bid-ask spread of 0.04% as of Sep. 24, 2026, and net assets of approximately $13.87 billion as of Aug. 31, 2026. These figures are issuer-reported approximations and the spread is a published observation rather than a live quote.
Custody arrangements are the most detailed part of the review. Fidelity Digital Assets, N.A., formerly Fidelity Digital Asset Services, LLC, is the principal bitcoin custodian and a sponsor affiliate; the June 30, 2026 financial report states that all fund bitcoin was held with this custodian. BitGo Bank & Trust, N.A. is an additional custodian available at the sponsor's discretion, but the April 29, 2026 prospectus reported no bitcoin allocated to BitGo and no then-current plan to transfer assets to it. State Street Bank and Trust Company serves as cash custodian and transfer agent and does not establish bitcoin custody. The review notes that neither arrangement gives individual shareholders control of private keys, and that custodian liability limits and insurance terms can affect recovery after a loss.
Retail investors cannot redeem FBTC shares for bitcoin. Authorized participants may create or redeem 25,000-share baskets for cash or bitcoin under the prospectus procedures, and ordinary shareholders exit by selling through a broker. The review cautions that the fund can lose substantial value as Bitcoin's price falls, that market prices may diverge from net asset value, and that the fund is not suitable for transferring or spending bitcoin. CryptoSlate rates FBTC 8.6/10, with the custody pillar scoring 7.0/10 because it reflects the weaker applicable responsibility term, and notes that a high rating does not make bitcoin low risk.
The fund's costs are straightforward. The sponsor fee is 0.25% annually, accrued daily on the prior day's bitcoin holdings net of liabilities and payable monthly, with taxes and certain extraordinary expenses charged in addition. According to the review, Fidelity reports a 30-day median bid-ask spread of 0.04% as of Sep. 24, 2026, and net assets of approximately $13.87 billion as of Aug. 31, 2026. These figures are issuer-reported approximations and the spread is a published observation rather than a live quote.
Custody arrangements are the most detailed part of the review. Fidelity Digital Assets, N.A., formerly Fidelity Digital Asset Services, LLC, is the principal bitcoin custodian and a sponsor affiliate; the June 30, 2026 financial report states that all fund bitcoin was held with this custodian. BitGo Bank & Trust, N.A. is an additional custodian available at the sponsor's discretion, but the April 29, 2026 prospectus reported no bitcoin allocated to BitGo and no then-current plan to transfer assets to it. State Street Bank and Trust Company serves as cash custodian and transfer agent and does not establish bitcoin custody. The review notes that neither arrangement gives individual shareholders control of private keys, and that custodian liability limits and insurance terms can affect recovery after a loss.
Retail investors cannot redeem FBTC shares for bitcoin. Authorized participants may create or redeem 25,000-share baskets for cash or bitcoin under the prospectus procedures, and ordinary shareholders exit by selling through a broker. The review cautions that the fund can lose substantial value as Bitcoin's price falls, that market prices may diverge from net asset value, and that the fund is not suitable for transferring or spending bitcoin. CryptoSlate rates FBTC 8.6/10, with the custody pillar scoring 7.0/10 because it reflects the weaker applicable responsibility term, and notes that a high rating does not make bitcoin low risk.
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