BLOK vs DAPP

BLOKBAmplify Blockchain Technology ETF

DAPPBVanEck Digital Transformation ETF

In short

BLOK Launched in January 2018, one of the first blockchain ETFs out of the gate, and still an active stock picker: about 50 global companies chosen by a manager rather than an index, plus limited digital-asset exposure through a wholly owned subsidiary.

DAPP Crypto exposure without the crypto. DAPP holds the equities of the digital-asset economy (exchanges, miners, infrastructure) and by its own mandate never buys a coin, a coin derivative, or an ICO.

Stated mandate

BLOK The Fund seeks total return through active investment in equity securities of companies involved in developing and using blockchain technologies. It may invest in non-U.S. equities and obtain limited digital-asset exposure through a wholly owned subsidiary.

DAPP Before fees and expenses, the Fund seeks to follow the price and yield performance of the MVIS Global Digital Assets Equity Index, which is designed to represent companies participating in digital-asset economies.

Why people hold it

• BLOK Actively managed rather than index-bound: the team picks roughly 50 blockchain-linked companies worldwide and can reshuffle as the industry's cast changes.
• A January 2018 launch that grew into a billion-dollar-plus fund, and one of the stronger implementations in its blockchain-equity peer group.
• Scale shows up at the screen: among the easier funds in this corner of the market to get in and out of, and spread across a broad basket instead of two or three names.

• DAPP A clean split of the trade: you own the businesses built around digital assets, while the fund is barred from holding the assets themselves or derivatives on them.usnews.comaaii.com
• 0.52% expense ratio, a shade under the typical global thematic fund, for a rules-based index rather than a manager's hunches.
• One of the more actively traded names in its thematic peer group, which generally means less bid-ask friction on the way in and out.
• Launched in 2021, early to the crypto-equity shelf, and built on VanEck's own MVIS Global Digital Assets Equity Index.

Worth knowing

• BLOK 0.70% a year, essentially the category median but above index-tracking rivals such as BKCH at 0.50%. Active stock selection is what the extra buys.
• Companies, not coins. Any direct digital-asset exposure is limited and routed through a wholly owned subsidiary, so the ride follows blockchain equities, not a coin price.
• Distributions land once or twice a year, so this is an equity growth vehicle rather than an income sleeve.

• DAPP Non-diversified by design and concentrated in miners and exchanges, so a single company's stumble can move the whole fund.usnews.comaaii.com
• These companies live off digital-asset activity, so the ride tends to track the crypto cycle even though no coins are held.
• Not an income holding: nothing was paid out over the past year, so the whole case rests on share prices.

Full BLOK profile⁠

Full DAPP profile⁠