Bitcoin futures ETF BITO underperforms spot Bitcoin ETFs by over $6,000 on $300K in a year due to futures roll costs.

The ProShares Bitcoin ETF (BITO), which invests in Bitcoin futures rather than the cryptocurrency itself, returned -30.46% over the past year, trailing spot Bitcoin ETFs like iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) and Fidelity Wise Origin (FBTC) by about $6,240 to $6,480 on a hypothetical $300,000 investment. This underperformance is largely due to the cost of rolling futures contracts, a hidden expense not listed as a fee, which occurs when BITO must sell expiring contracts and buy more expensive later-dated ones in a market condition called contango. In contrast, spot ETFs hold actual Bitcoin and avoid these roll costs, resulting in better tracking of Bitcoin's price. BITO's higher expense ratio and tax implications also contribute to the performance gap. Investors should check whether their Bitcoin fund holds actual coins or futures to understand potential hidden costs and performance differences.

As of Nov 04, 2026 09:21 WIB, BITO trades at USD 10.22 with a slight 1-day gain of 0.29%, while IBIT is priced at USD 43.45, up 0.23% on the day. Despite BITO's smaller market cap of $1.49 billion compared to IBIT's $62.36 billion, BITO sees equal buy and sell activity on Pluang, contrasting with IBIT's predominantly buy-side interest. The notable difference in typical hold times—36 days for BITO versus 46 days for IBIT—may reflect investor preference for the spot ETF's closer tracking of Bitcoin's price.