Best BTCI Alternatives in 2026

The BTCI alternatives category gathers eight funds built around crypto-linked income strategies, primarily using options overlays on Bitcoin, Ethereum-adjacent equities, or crypto-sensitive stocks like MSTR and COIN. YieldMax is the dominant issuer by count, with three funds in this set (MSTY, CONY, YBIT), while ProShares, Nicholas Wealth Management, Roundhill Investments, Simplify ETFs, and Amplify ETFs each contribute a single fund. The category splits structurally between traditional directional exposure (BITO) and higher-yield covered-call or option-income strategies that make up the bulk of the group, with distribution frequencies split between monthly and weekly payouts.

• BITO carries the largest AUM in the funds shown above at $1.5B but also the lowest yield at 1.80%, reflecting its role as a futures-based strategy fund rather than an option-income product.
• Among weekly-pay funds shown here, MSTY reports the highest yield at 65.91%, followed closely by CONY at 62.72%.
• BITY has the lowest expense ratio in this group at 0.65%, notably below MAXI, which carries the highest at 1.31%.
• AUM is concentrated at the top, with BITO and MSTY together accounting for roughly $2.5B of the category's total reported assets, while BITY sits at just $13M.
• Yields in this category vary widely, from 1.80% (BITO) to 65.91% (MSTY), underscoring how strategy design rather than issuer alone drives income levels.

Investors reviewing this category may find it useful to consider that elevated yields in option-income crypto funds often stem from premium collection against highly volatile underlying assets, which can mean distributions fluctuate significantly and may include return of capital. Expense ratios across the group cluster near 1%, with BITY as a lower-cost outlier and MAXI as a higher-cost outlier among the funds shown above. Differences in distribution frequency (monthly versus weekly) and underlying strategy — direct futures exposure versus single-stock option overlays — represent structural distinctions worth understanding beyond headline yield figures.

• Strategy mismatch: several funds on this list track a different index or use a different income mechanism than BTCI, so swapping into one changes the exposure — upside participation, payout cadence, and tax character can all shift, not just the ticker.
• Capped upside: covered-call and option-overlay funds in this group keep the option premium in a rally but surrender gains above the strike, so they can trail the very index they write options against.
• Distribution sustainability: the average distribution rate here is 34.5%, and payouts at that level often include return of capital — when distributions persistently exceed total return, NAV erodes and shrinks the base that generates future income.
• Single-name concentration: option-income funds built on one underlying stock inherit that company's full drawdown risk, and a sharp decline can overwhelm months of option premium.
• Concentration in one theme: most funds here focus on crypto, so the whole list tends to draw down together when that corner of the market falls out of favor — diversification across the table is lower than the fund count suggests.

• Universe: a hand-curated peer set, split into close peers (5 here — same core exposure and same income mechanism, so a like-for-like swap) and broader substitutes (a different index, underlying asset, or income mechanism). Every fund is labelled in the Strategy fit column; BTCI itself is excluded.
• Eligibility: active ETFs only — liquidated, delisted, and renamed funds drop out automatically. Leveraged and inverse products are never listed: a daily-reset 2x or -1x fund is not an alternative to a long income position.
• Ranking: assets under management, used only as a fund-size ranking. Never ranked by yield — yields are shown as data, not used to order the list.
• Fit: how each fund's strategy differs from BTCI — and who each one suits — is covered in the strategy notes and FAQ below.