Cboe has formally asked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to approve what would be the first U.S.-listed 3x leveraged exchange-traded funds tied to Bitcoin and Ether. The request was published as a proposed rule change through the Cboe BZX Exchange, starting a regulatory review process rather than authorizing the funds to begin trading.
The proposed products would be sponsored by Volatility Shares as part of a six-fund filing that also covers gold, silver, crude oil and natural gas. The SEC notice was published on August 14, following Cboe’s submission of the proposed rule change four days earlier. There is no confirmed launch date, and the funds have not yet been approved.
How the leveraged ETFs would work
Unlike spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs, the proposed funds would not hold the cryptocurrencies directly. Instead, they would gain exposure through first- and second-month Bitcoin and Ether futures traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Each fund would seek to deliver three times the daily return of its underlying futures benchmark, with cash and cash equivalents held as collateral.
The 3x target would reset after each trading session. For example, if the relevant futures benchmark rises 5% in a single day, the fund would seek a gain of about 15% before fees and expenses. However, this daily reset means returns over periods longer than one day can diverge sharply from three times the underlying move because of compounding.
Cboe wants to list the products as Commodity-Based Trust Shares under BZX Rule 14.11(e)(4). The exchange already has generic listing standards for certain commodity products, but those standards prohibit funds designed to deliver a specified multiple of a benchmark. Cboe is therefore requesting an exception through the 19b-4 process for these specific Bitcoin and Ether products.
Regulatory review and market implications
The SEC generally has 45 days from publication of the notice in the Federal Register to approve or reject the rule change or begin a longer review. That period can be extended to as many as 90 days. In addition, the VS Trust must have an effective registration statement before any shares can trade. The filing does not yet provide tickers, expense ratios or a launch date.
If approved, the funds would be the first U.S.-listed 3x ETFs tied to Bitcoin and Ether. Such a decision could set a precedent for how the SEC treats leveraged crypto ETF products and may shape expectations for future filings from other issuers. The request arrives amid a broader wave of crypto ETF proposals running through Cboe’s exchanges, including products tied to Solana, Cardano and HBAR.
