Best Canadian Bitcoin ETFs for 2026: fees, tickers and trade-offs

Updated October 23, 2026

Looking for the best Canadian Bitcoin ETFs for 2026 to hold inside an RRSP or TFSA? A Bitcoin ETF makes that possible. The fund holds the Bitcoin. You buy shares in the fund, and those shares track the coin's daily move. No wallet, no seed phrase, no exchange account. The trade-off is an annual fee, and that fee is what separates the funds below.

Most Canadian Bitcoin ETFs currently trade between $5 and $10 per share. You can buy as many or as few shares as you like. This makes Bitcoin investing accessible to everyone, even those with only small amounts of capital.

There are many Bitcoin ETFs in Canada with similar features, so it can be overwhelming when trying to decide on one. I went through the most commonly used Bitcoin ETFs and narrowed it down to the top Bitcoin ETFs for you to consider. All ETFs on this list use cold storage, which means the Bitcoins can’t be hacked.

Best overall Bitcoin ETF: CI Galaxy Bitcoin ETF

The lowest management fee on the Canadian market. The fund simply tracks the price of Bitcoin, with nothing clever layered on top. For most people that is the right answer. Every extra feature further down this page costs 45 to 66 basis points a year.

The CI Galaxy Bitcoin ETF is my top pick for Canadian Bitcoin ETFs. It trades under two ticker symbols:

Best Canadian Bitcoin ETFs

BTCX.B.TO: priced in Canadian dollars. Take this one if your account is in CAD and you would rather not convert capital first.

BTCX.U.TO: priced in US dollars, for anyone running a US-funds trading account.

The management expense ratio (MER) is 0.83% a year, the lowest of any Bitcoin ETF on the list. The MER comes straight out of the fund's performance. On a 10,000 dollar position that is 83 dollars a year, whether Bitcoin rises or falls.

It commenced trading in 2021 and has approximately $219 million in assets under management. That also makes it one of the largest cryptocurrency ETFs in Canada. There are several other Bitcoin ETFs which have similar functionality to the CI Galaxy fund, but because of the higher management fees, they are a less attractive choice.

Two close alternatives are worth naming. Fidelity Advantage trades as FBTC.TO in Canadian dollars and FBTC.U.TO in US dollars, carries a 0.96% MER and has slightly underperformed CI Galaxy. The 3iQ CoinShares fund, BTCQ.TO and BTCQ.U.TO, charges 1.4%.

Second place: Ninepoint Bitcoin ETF

The Ninepoint Bitcoin ETF is the environmental pick. Part of the fee goes to offsetting the carbon footprint of Bitcoin mining. That answers the objection most often raised against holding the coin.

That will appeal to Canadian investors who screen for green holdings elsewhere in the portfolio. The catch is the fee, and it is the steepest here.

It trades under two symbols:

• BITC.TO: Canadian dollars

• BITC.U.TO: US dollars

The MER is 1.45%, the highest of the funds discussed so far. The fund launched in 2021 and holds about 21 million dollars in assets. That is the smallest on this page by a wide margin.

Small funds carry a specific risk that has nothing to do with Bitcoin. They close. Running a fund few people buy is not worth the operator's time. When one winds up you get your money back, then start again from scratch.

Third place: Purpose Bitcoin ETF

This is the choice for anyone who wants Bitcoin exposure without a second bet on the currency.

If you buy a Bitcoin ETF in Canadian dollars, the Bitcoin owned by the fund is priced in US dollars. This means your return is not only affected by Bitcoin, but also by the US dollar.

Plenty of investors have no interest in tracking two variables at once. The Purpose Bitcoin ETF (BTCC.TO) is priced in Canadian dollars. The fund hedges away the US dollar exposure that comes with the underlying coin.

Ninepoint Bitcoin ETF

Whatever Bitcoin does in US dollars is what you get in Canadian dollars, less the fee. That fee is 1.49%, capped at 1.5%. The fund started trading in 2021 and is the largest of the group by assets. Size also makes it the least likely to close.

Fourth place: Purpose Yield Bitcoin ETF

This one pays you while you hold it, at a yield of roughly 7% a year. Bitcoin itself pays nothing, so the income is manufactured. The managers generate it by writing covered calls against the fund's Bitcoin positions.

The Purpose Bitcoin Yield ETF may appeal to you if you want regular income from a Bitcoin investment. It trades under three ticker symbols:

• BTCY.TO: Canadian dollars, hedged against US dollar movement

• BTCY.B: Canadian dollars, unhedged

• BTCY.U.TO: US dollars

All three pay the yield. The choice comes down to two things: the currency your account is funded in, and whether you want the hedge.

Here is the catch. The income is real, but the fund has underperformed the ETFs above by roughly 7% a year. You collect 7% in distributions and give up about 7% in capital growth. That is recent history rather than a guarantee. Still, it makes the yield closer to a transfer than a free lunch.

So the question is not which fund earns more. It is whether you want the return delivered as cash. These funds are small, around 50 million dollars under management, and the expense ratio is 1.28%.

The risks and rewards of investing in Bitcoin ETFs

Bitcoin drew attention because of the size of the gains. The same volatility produced drops just as violent. Work out whether you can watch a holding halve without selling. That is the real question here.

As of April 29 of 2023, Bitcoin is up 203% over the last five years. Over the last 10 years, it is up 24,908%, and that is why it has piqued so many people’s interest.

The rise has not been smooth. Across those ten years Bitcoin has had 13 drawdowns of 50% or more. Each followed a rally of at least 50% off a low. Averaged out, that is a 50% drop roughly once a year while you stay invested.

What the fee gap actually costs you

Run the numbers on a 10,000 dollar position. The fee is the one variable on this page you control. CI Galaxy at 0.83% takes 83 dollars a year. Purpose Bitcoin at 1.49% takes 149. Ninepoint at 1.45% takes 145. The gap between cheapest and dearest is about 66 dollars a year, and it repeats every year you hold. Over five years that is more than 330 dollars gone before Bitcoin has moved a cent.

So the cheapest tracker wins unless you specifically want something it does not do. Currency hedging is one such reason. Monthly income is another. Carbon offsetting is a third. Each costs 45 to 66 basis points a year against CI Galaxy.

Bitcoin ETFs work for day trading, swing trading and long-term holding alike. They trade on the exchange like any other stock during market hours.

The Risks and Rewards of Investing in Bitcoin ETFs

Which one should you buy

Plain exposure at the lowest cost points to CI Galaxy, and the 0.83% MER is the whole reason. Worried about a falling US dollar? The hedged Purpose fund solves that for an extra 66 basis points. Need cash flow? Purpose Yield pays around 7% and has historically handed back a similar amount in growth. Ninepoint is the environmental option and the smallest fund here, which is a risk in itself.

Check the current MER and fund size on the provider's factsheet before buying, because both move. If you would rather trade Bitcoin directly, compare regulated brokers on our brokers hub.

FAQ

Can I hold a Bitcoin ETF in an RRSP or TFSA?

Yes, and that is the main reason these funds exist. A registered Canadian account cannot hold coins bought on a crypto exchange, but it can hold an exchange traded fund listed on a Canadian exchange. You buy it like any other stock.

Which Canadian Bitcoin ETF has the lowest fee?

The CI Galaxy Bitcoin ETF, at a 0.83% management expense ratio, tickers BTCX.B.TO in Canadian dollars and BTCX.U.TO in US dollars. Fidelity Advantage sits at 0.96%, Purpose Yield at 1.28%, 3iQ CoinShares at 1.4%, Ninepoint at 1.45%, Purpose Bitcoin at 1.49%.

What does a currency-hedged Bitcoin ETF do?

Bitcoin is priced in US dollars, so a Canadian buying an unhedged fund is exposed to two things at once: the coin and the exchange rate. A hedged fund such as BTCC.TO strips out the currency leg, so your return follows Bitcoin in US dollar terms less the fee.

Can the Bitcoin held by these ETFs be hacked?

Every fund on this list keeps its Bitcoin in cold storage, so the coins sit offline and out of reach of an exchange breach. That removes custody risk, not market risk. The price can still halve, and historically it has done so about once a year.