BITA vs XEY

BITAAThe iShares Bitcoin Premium Income ETF

XEYDGraniteShares YieldBOOST Ether ETF

In short

BITA BlackRock's take on the bitcoin income trade: own actual bitcoin, then sell calls on only a quarter to a third of it. Most crypto covered-call funds hand over the upside to buy the yield. This one is built to leave most of it on the table.

XEY Most crypto income funds sell calls on the coin. XEY sells puts on 2x Ether ETFs, harvesting the fatter premiums that leverage creates, and pays weekly. The fund itself holds no leverage; the leverage lives inside the options it writes.

Stated mandate

BITA The Trust seeks to reflect the performance of bitcoin while generating premium income through an actively managed strategy of selling call options primarily on IBIT shares and, from time to time, on ETP indices.

XEY XEY seeks to generate income mainly by selling puts on leveraged ETFs designed to deliver twice the daily performance of Ether, targeting twice the option income. It also seeks exposure to that leveraged ETF's performance, with potential gains capped.

Why people hold it

• BITA Holds spot bitcoin and IBIT shares directly, and the sponsor aims to write calls on a predetermined 25% to 35% of notional value, leaving the majority of the position unwritten.sec.gov
• 0.65% expense ratio, below the 0.85% typical of crypto options-income funds and at the low end of the category's strongest implementations (BTCC 0.66%, CEPI 0.85%, YBTC 0.96%).
• The partnership wrapper earns its keep: IBIT options are Section 1256 contracts eligible for 60/40 blended rates, and partnerships skip forced year-end capital gain distributions.ishares.com
• Among the better-built options in a crowded crypto income shelf, with the calls written on IBIT, the deepest-traded bitcoin ETP options market.ishares.com

• XEY The twist: it writes puts on leveraged Ether ETFs rather than on Ether, aiming for twice the option income of the plain version.graniteshares.com
• The YieldBOOST structure sells near-the-money puts and buys further out-of-the-money puts, so the downside on the options leg is defined rather than open-ended.graniteshares.com
• Distributions land weekly, not monthly or quarterly, across the whole YieldBOOST shelf.graniteshares.comgraniteshares.com 2

Worth knowing

• BITA That same partnership structure means a Schedule K-1 instead of a 1099, which lands later in tax season and can add filing steps.ishares.com
• Calls written on part of the book cap gains on that slice. The premium income is paid for with upside, not conjured from thin air.sec.gov
• Launched in 2026 and structured as a trust outside the Investment Company Act, so the record is short and it trades lighter than the category's biggest names.sec.gov

• XEY At 1.07%, the fee sits above what a typical crypto options-income peer charges; CEPI and BAGY run their versions cheaper.
• Selling puts means the strike levels cap the upside while Ether's drawdowns still come through. The issuer also discloses that payouts can include return of capital.graniteshares.com
• A 2026 launch, still small and lightly traded. Thin volume can mean wider spreads, so limit orders matter here.

Full BITA profile⁠

Full XEY profile⁠