DAPP vs STCE

DAPPBVanEck Digital Transformation ETF

STCEASchwab Crypto Thematic ETF

In short

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.

STCE Crypto exposure without owning a coin. STCE holds about 40 global companies tied to digital assets and blockchain, chosen by Schwab's own index, at a price that undercuts most thematic funds.

Stated mandate

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.

STCE The fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, an index providing global exposure to companies that may benefit from developing or using cryptocurrencies and other digital assets, or from business activities tied to blockchain and distributed-ledger technology.

Why people hold it

• 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.

• STCE Charges 0.30% a year, roughly half the typical fund in its global thematic group. Schwab billed it as the lowest-cost crypto-related ETF when it launched in 2022.aboutschwab.com
• Stocks, not coins: the index targets companies worldwide that may benefit from cryptocurrencies, digital assets and distributed-ledger technology.schwabassetmanagement.com
• Cheap, straightforward and liquid enough for a niche theme, which puts it in the top quartile of its global thematic peer group.

Worth knowing

• 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.

• STCE Crypto-linked equities move violently, and with roughly 40 non-diversified names, a stumble at one holding is felt across the fund.aaii.com
• It owns crypto-adjacent businesses, not bitcoin, so its path can diverge from the coins themselves in either direction.aaii.com
• Modest asset base by ETF standards and distributions land only once or twice a year, so this is a theme sleeve rather than an income holding.

Full DAPP profile⁠

Full STCE profile⁠