ProShares files to create an inverse Bitcoin futures ETF
ProShares, which launched the first bitcoin futures ETF last fall, is seeking approval for a new product that will allow investors to bet against the price of bitcoin.
The ProShares Short Bitcoin Strategy ETF traces the opposing performance of a bitcoin futures index. Bloomberg first reported the news Wednesday morning.
In a Tuesday regulatory filing, ProShares said that the proposed fund "seeks daily investment results, before fees and expenses, that correspond to the inverse (-1x) of the daily performance of the Index. The Fund does not seek to achieve its stated investment objective over a period of time greater than a single day."
ProShares' product, and the similar ones that have come in its wake, represented a significant sea-change for bitcoin-tied exchange products in the US. Still, the Securities and Exchange Commission has been resistant to spot bitcoin ETFs, having shot down numerous proposals in recent months from well-known industry firms.
Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst for Bloomberg, remarked in a Wednesday tweet that ProShares may succeed in its bid "given ProShares' perfect read on SEC w/ $BITO and the lack of issues w/ futures ETFs so far."
