ARKB vs ETHE: Which ETF Is Better in 2026?
A metric-by-metric comparison of ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) and Grayscale Ethereum Staking ETF (ETHE) — both Crypto funds — using ETFValuer's daily-updated rankings.
Educational content — not financial advice. Data as of July 25, 2026. ~5 minute read.
The Verdict
ARKB and ETHE compete directly — both are Crypto funds chasing the same job in a portfolio. That makes this a genuine either/or: the index each tracks, what it costs, and how it has handled drawdowns are what separate them, not the broad exposure they give you.
On ETFValuer's overall model — which blends return, risk-adjusted performance, cost, drawdown, size and volatility — ARKB scores higher: 33.6 (Grade F) versus 16.6 for ETHE. That doesn't make ETHE a bad fund; it means ARKB currently edges it out on this specific mix of factors. Read the metric-by-metric breakdown below before deciding which matters more for your own portfolio.
Head-to-Head: Every Metric
| ARKB | ETHE | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Crypto | Crypto |
| Expense ratio | 0.21% | 2.50% |
| Fund size (AUM) | $1.9B | $1.2B |
| Dividend yield | 0.00% | 1.39% |
| 1-year return | -45.95% | -48.85% |
| 3-year return | n/a | +59.28% |
| Volatility | 44.18% | 67.14% |
| Max drawdown | -53.33% | -68.17% |
| Sharpe ratio | -1.15 | -0.80 |
| ETFValuer score | 33.6 | 16.6 |
| Grade | F | F |
| Overall rank | #440 | #458 |
Bold marks the better value in each row. "Better" is directional only (e.g. lower cost, higher return) — it isn't a recommendation by itself. See the full methodology.
Cost
ARKB is the cheaper fund, charging 0.21% a year versus 2.50% for ETHE — a gap of 2.29 percentage points (about $229.00/year on a $10,000 position) that compounds meaningfully over a multi-decade holding period. See the ETF Fee Calculator for the exact dollar impact at your investment size and horizon.
What ETHE's Fees Cost You
ETHE charges an expense ratio of 2.50% a year, deducted automatically from the fund's value. Small percentages compound into real money — adjust the figures below to see the impact on your own numbers.
Assumes a constant gross return and no additional contributions — a simplification, but it isolates exactly what the expense ratio costs. Try the full fee calculator to model contributions and compare any two funds.
Performance & Risk
Because at least one of these funds is too young for a 3-year record, the comparison rests on the 1-year window: ARKB returned -45.95% against -48.85% for ETHE. ETHE has the better risk-adjusted figure over that window (Sharpe -0.80 vs -1.15). A single year says very little about how either fund behaves across a full market cycle, so weight this far less heavily than you would a long record.
A Note on Comparing These Two
ARKB has only 2.5 years of trading history, against a full three-year record for ETHE. That makes several figures below not directly comparable: the 3-year return is unavailable, and the maximum drawdown covers a shorter — and possibly calmer — stretch of market history. A shallow drawdown on a young fund means it has not yet been tested, not that it held up well.
How Closely Do They Track Each Other?
Over the last 2.5 years of daily returns (634 shared trading days), ARKB and ETHE show a strong correlation of 0.794 — clearly related, with room to diverge. There is some genuine differentiation here, but not enough to call these complementary holdings. Pairing them mostly concentrates risk rather than spreading it.
| Measure | Value | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Daily return correlation | 0.794 | Strong — clearly related, with room to diverge |
| R-squared | 63.0% | 63.0% of ARKB's daily moves are explained by ETHE's |
| Tracking error (annualised) | 46.09% | Typical yearly spread between the two funds' returns |
| Annualised return over 2.5y | ARKB +13.19% · ETHE -9.38% | ARKB ahead by 22.58 points a year |
Correlation alone understates how far these can drift. Across every rolling 12-month window in the period, ARKB finished as much as +112.1 points ahead of ETHE at the best extreme and -60.0 points at the worst — a 172.1-point spread between the best and worst year of relative performance. Two funds can correlate tightly day to day and still deliver very different outcomes over any single year you happen to hold them.
Calculated from daily total returns over the trailing 3-year window, recomputed every day this site refreshes. Correlation of 1.00 means the two funds moved in lockstep; 0.00 means their daily moves were unrelated.
Which One Should You Pick?
Lean ARKB if…
- You want the lower running cost — 0.21% vs 2.50%, about $229 a year less on a $10,000 position
- It has been the calmer ride (44.2% volatility vs 67.1%) with a shallower worst-case fall (-53.3% vs -68.2%)
Lean ETHE if…
- Current income matters to you — it yields 1.39% against 0.00%
- You care about return per unit of risk — its Sharpe ratio of -0.80 beats -1.15
Whichever you pick, holding both at full weight is usually the wrong answer — see the overlap and correlation sections above.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is ARKB or ETHE better?
On ETFValuer's overall model — which blends return, risk-adjusted performance, cost, drawdown, size and volatility — ARKB scores higher: 33.6 (Grade F) versus 16.6 for ETHE. That doesn't make ETHE a bad fund; it means ARKB currently edges it out on this specific mix of factors. Read the metric-by-metric breakdown below before deciding which matters more for your own portfolio.
Which has the lower expense ratio, ARKB or ETHE?
ARKB currently has the lower expense ratio (0.21% vs. 2.50%).
Can I hold both ARKB and ETHE?
Yes, and it may be worth doing. ARKB and ETHE correlate at only 0.79 over the past 2.5 years, so they behave differently enough that holding both is a genuine diversification decision rather than a redundant one. Size each to the role you want it to play.
Go deeper on either fund
Full daily-updated metrics, holdings context, and category peers.