The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has approved the listing of a 3x leveraged bitcoin futures fund on Cboe BZX, along with five companion commodity products. The SEC authorized the exchange rule change on October 2, clearing the way for Volatility Shares LLC to launch the new offerings.
The bitcoin fund targets three times the daily performance of its futures benchmark before expenses. A separate 3x Ether ETF is also part of the lineup, which additionally includes funds tracking gold, silver, crude oil, and natural gas. The products are structured as exchange-traded products (ETPs) rather than conventional ETFs regulated under the Investment Company Act of 1940.
The bitcoin strategy uses first and second-month futures contracts, with cash and cash equivalents pledged to support positions. The fund rolls approximately 20 percent of its holdings daily over five days as contracts approach expiration. This approach replaces expiring futures with later-dated contracts to maintain consistent exposure.
How the Leverage Works
A 1% rise in the bitcoin futures benchmark would produce a targeted 3% daily gain before fees, while a 1% decline would correspond to a targeted 3% loss. However, investors should understand that daily compounding can produce longer-term results that diverge significantly from three times the benchmark's cumulative change, particularly during periods of higher volatility.
The exposure is gained through futures contracts rather than direct bitcoin ownership. Futures are agreements to buy or sell an asset at a specified future date, meaning returns track futures prices rather than the spot price of bitcoin itself.
Regulatory Oversight and Requirements
The listings remain subject to strict regulatory conditions. Broker recommendations must continue to comply with rules requiring advisors to consider investors' circumstances, potential risks, rewards, and costs. Exchange surveillance and trading-halt requirements also apply, including halts when daily asset valuations are not available to all market participants simultaneously.
Before trading begins, each fund must have an effective registration statement in place and at least 100,000 shares outstanding. The sponsor is required to calculate net asset value per share daily.
Volatility Shares LLC already operates a 2x bitcoin fund launched in June 2023 and expanded into XRP futures funds listed on Nasdaq in May 2025 with both unleveraged and 2x daily leverage options.
