BITW vs GDLC: Bitwise 10 vs Grayscale CoinDesk 5

Quick answer

	BITW	GDLC
Full name	Bitwise 10 Crypto Index ETF	Grayscale CoinDesk Crypto 5 ETF
Underlying index	Bitwise 10 Large Cap Crypto Index	CoinDesk 5 Index
Constituents	10	5
Rebalancing	Monthly	Quarterly
Sponsor / management fee	0.75%	0.59%
Exchange	NYSE Arca	NYSE Arca
Structure	Exchange-traded product (not a 1940 Act fund)	Exchange-traded product (not a 1940 Act fund)
Best for	Wider large-cap sleeve, faster reconstitution	Cleaner five-name basket, lower headline fee

Always confirm fees and holdings against the live prospectus and factsheet — unitary fees and reconstitution lists change.

What each product tracks

BITW tracks the Bitwise 10 Large Cap Crypto Index. Ten assets, market-cap weighted, with Bitwise’s eligibility screens and the Approved Components rule that keeps most of the weight in assets that already have an SEC-approved single-asset ETP. The fund listed on NYSE Arca on 9 December 2025 after years as a private fund and OTC trust. For the index rulebook itself, see What is the Bitwise 10 Large Cap Crypto Index.

GDLC tracks the CoinDesk 5 Index — five large-cap crypto assets under CoinDesk’s reconstitution rules. It converted to an ETF in September 2025 after launching as the Digital Large Cap Fund in 2018. It was the first US multi-asset crypto index product to make that jump.

Neither product is a 1940 Act registered investment company. Both are exchange-traded products that hold crypto and issue shares. The legal difference from a classic equity ETF matters for governance and recourse; we unpack it in Crypto ETF vs ETP.

Holdings and concentration

If you opened either factsheet expecting “ten coins” or “five coins” to mean equal diversification, the weights will disappoint.

As of late September 2026, issuer prints for both products put bitcoin near three-quarters of the basket and ether in the mid-teens. Combined BTC+ETH weight sits close to 90% in BITW and in a similar band for GDLC. The remaining sleeve is where they diverge:

• BITW’s tail is wider — recent reconstitutions have included names such as XRP, Solana, Hyperliquid, Cardano, Stellar and Litecoin among other large caps. Treat any named list as a snapshot.
• GDLC’s tail is three names. Recent prints have included BNB, XRP and Solana; the three rotate at quarterly reconstitution.

So the real BITW vs GDLC question is not “bitcoin or not.” It is how much of a large-cap alt sleeve you want, and how often you want that sleeve revised. For why market-cap crypto indices stay concentrated, see Your Ten-Asset Crypto Index Is Mostly Two Assets.

Rebalancing: monthly vs quarterly

BITW rebalances monthly with its index. That picks up rotation into and out of the top ten faster. It also means more turnover, more trading inside the vehicle, and a methodology that can feel noisier in a quiet market.

GDLC reconstitutes quarterly with the CoinDesk family schedule. Calmer, cheaper in turnover, and slower to absorb a new large-cap that suddenly belongs in a top-five list.

Neither schedule is universally better. Monthly suits investors who want the basket to track the live large-cap ranking. Quarterly suits investors who want fewer reconstitutions and a simpler story. See index rebalancing explained.

Fees and total cost

GDLC’s headline management fee (0.59%) undercuts BITW’s sponsor fee (0.75%). That gap matters on a long hold, but it is not the whole cost stack.

Also check:

1. Bid-ask spread on the exchange you use
2. Premium or discount to NAV on the day you buy and sell
3. Whether creations and redemptions are keeping the share price tight to holdings

Both products traded at wide discounts in their OTC years. Conversion narrowed that gap; it did not erase the risk under stress. See tracking error, NAV premium and discount.

Who should pick which

Prefer BITW if you want the broadest single US ticker for large-cap crypto, accept monthly turnover, and care more about sleeve breadth than about saving ~0.16 percentage points a year on the headline fee.

Prefer GDLC if you want a small, readable five-name basket, prefer quarterly reconstitution, and want the lower published management fee — while accepting that the product is still close to a bitcoin core with a short satellite list.

Prefer neither fund if your goal is diversification away from bitcoin. Market-cap weighting will not deliver that. Look at capped or equal-weighted constructions, or build the basket yourself — see crypto index fund vs buying coins and cap-weighted vs equal-weighted.

AUM and liquidity

As of late September 2026, Bitwise reported BITW net assets around $0.76B; Grayscale’s late-August print put GDLC near $0.42B. Rankings move with flows and prices. Check average daily volume on your brokerage before assuming you can exit a large ticket at the mid.

Frequently asked questions

Is BITW or GDLC better?

Depends on what you optimise for. BITW is wider and monthly; GDLC is tighter and cheaper on the headline fee. Both are bitcoin-heavy.

Are BITW and GDLC real ETFs?

They trade like ETFs. They are generally not Investment Company Act of 1940 funds. Read the sponsor disclaimer and our ETF vs ETP explainer.

Can I hold them in a retirement account?

Where your provider allows US-listed crypto ETPs, yes — that access is one of the main reasons to use either product instead of spot wallets.

Do they hold the same coins?

Overlapping cores (BTC, ETH, and often XRP/SOL in the tail), different sleeve size and reconstitution calendar. Always check the current factsheet.

Cryptoindex.ai publishes index data and market analysis for informational purposes. This is not investment advice, and we do not receive compensation from any fund issuer named on this page. Digital assets are volatile and you can lose your entire investment.