SEC Approves Listing of 6 Funds With 3x Leverage Covering Bitcoin, Gold and Oil
Key Facts
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved a change to the listing rule on Cboe BZX on October 2, allowing the listing of 6 VS Trust exchange-traded products targeting three times the daily performance of reference assets. The products cover bitcoin, ether, gold, silver, crude oil and natural gas, making the decision broader than cryptocurrency funds alone. The agency said the funds seek to achieve their target returns before fees and expenses, based on changes in prices of first- and second-month futures contracts. The order concerns a change to the exchange’s rule and does not establish that the products have begun trading or that sales are available. Registration statements remain a separate step before sales to the public can begin.
The proposed bitcoin fund carries the ticker BITH, while the ether fund carries the ticker ETHK, according to VS Trust’s filing with the agency. The funds do not invest directly in the two currencies, but rely primarily on short-term futures contracts, along with cash and cash equivalents. This means the intended exposure comes through instruments linked to futures prices, rather than through holdings of bitcoin or ether themselves. The rule approved by the agency also covers products linked to metals and energy, encompassing assets with different markets and price drivers. The proposed tickers identify the two funds in the filing, but do not by themselves mean that trading has begun.
The funds target three times the reference asset’s movement in a single day, before fees and expenses, according to the agency’s description of their investment objectives. But the filing warns that a fund’s performance when held for more than one day may differ in magnitude, and possibly in direction, from three times the asset’s movement over that period. It links this difference to the compounding of daily returns, since the target is recalculated daily rather than applying the multiple once to the cumulative change. Daily leverage therefore does not mean that the result over several days will equal three times the asset’s total change over the same period. The filing also warns that investors could lose the entire value of their investment in a single day or overnight.
The regulatory process began on August 10, 2026, when Cboe BZX submitted its proposed rule change, and the proposal was then published for comment in the Federal Register on August 19. The agency said it received no comments on the proposal and concluded that it was consistent with the law. In its assessment, the agency relied on requirements to prevent fraudulent and manipulative practices and to protect investors and the public interest. The order was signed on the agency’s behalf by staff of the Division of Trading and Markets under delegated authority, according to a signature by Assistant Secretary Sherry Haywood. The agency described the products as commodity-based exchange-traded products, not open-end investment companies subject to the Investment Company Act of 1940.
The news was republished on October 25, while EL7 data showed bitcoin closing at $80,186.94, down from $84,093.42 on October 21. Ether closed at $2,345.51 on October 25, compared with $2,473.76 four days earlier. These closing prices place both assets in a declining market context over the comparison period, but do not represent a direct response to a decision issued earlier in the month. The data provided do not include a measurement of price movements when the decision was announced or a daily percentage change linked to it. The comparison here is therefore limited to the closing prices on the two specified dates.
In the next step, VS Trust filed a first amendment to its S-1 registration statement on October 7, 2026. The preliminary filing said the securities could not be sold before the registration statement became effective. It also specified that the proposed sales would begin as soon as practicable after the statement became effective. This makes an effective registration a subsequent condition for sales to begin, following the agency’s approval of the exchange’s listing rule change. The filing provided did not specify a date for the statement to become effective or for sales to begin.