First leveraged bitcoin futures ETF will launch Tuesday, Volatility Shares says

Quick Take

  • Volatility Shares will launch its 2x Bitcoin Strategy ETF on Tuesday, after its filing was not denied by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
  • The move comes as more and more firms are looking to launch a separate type of exchange-traded fund that’s focused on the bitcoin spot market. 

The first leveraged bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund became effective on Friday after not being rejected by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 

The Volatility Shares 2x Bitcoin Strategy ETF, or BITX, is due to start trading on Tuesday, Stuart Barton, chief investment officer at Volatility Shares, said in an email. CoinDesk first reported the news. 

BITX will look to provide two times the return of a bitcoin futures index on a daily basis.

Bitcoin futures contracts

The fund will not directly invest in bitcoin and instead “seeks to benefit from increases in the price of Bitcoin Futures Contracts,” according to the prospectus. 

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The SEC has approved a bitcoin futures ETF before, but it hasn't yet approved a spot fund. This past week firms including WisdomTree, Invesco and BlackRock all filed for spot bitcoin funds. 


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About Author

Sarah is a reporter at The Block covering policy, regulation and legal happenings. Before, Sarah was a reporter with CQ Legal writing about securities regulation, which is where she first started reporting on crypto. Sarah has also written for The Bond Buyer and American Banker, among other finance-related publications. She graduated from the University of Missouri and earned a degree in print and digital journalism. Sarah is based in Washington D.C., and is an avid coffee lover. You can follow her on Twitter @ForTheWynn.

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