ProShares has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to list shares of a Short Bitcoin Strategy ETF an exchange-traded fund that will be based on daily investment.
ProShares filed an application with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday for an investment vehicle that would allow customers to wager against Bitcoin (BTC) futures using an exchange-traded fund.
The Short Bitcoin Strategy ETF will be based on daily investment results equating to the opposite of the return of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Bitcoin Futures Contracts Index for a day, according to the registration statement.
ProShares and ETF
ProShares became the first firm to ever create an exchange-traded fund connected to BTC futures in the United States, under the ticker BITO, on NYSE Arca in October 2021. At the time of publication, shares were trading at $27.58, down more than 4% in the previous 24 hours.
Although the SEC has not approved a spot Bitcoin ETF in the United States, it has given the go-ahead for investment vehicles with exposure to BTC futures, as well as crypto mining companies, to begin trading in 2021.
A comparable product from ProShares was rejected by the regulatory body in 2018, but a fund from Horizons ETFs Management that allows investors to short Bitcoin futures now trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the ticker BITI: the BetaPro Inverse Bitcoin ETF.
The ProShares file is a preliminary prospectus that is subject to completion, according to the SEC. The proposal anticipates a public offering 75 days after filing on June 19 but the SEC has regularly delayed crypto ETF filings or opened them up for public discussion, delaying the regulatory body’s decision on whether to approve or disapprove listing shares.