The Securities and Exchange Commission approved a rule change on October 2, 2026, allowing Cboe BZX Exchange to list six triple-leveraged exchange-traded products from Volatility Shares. The approval includes a 3x Bitcoin ETF with proposed ticker BITH and a 3x Ether ETF with proposed ticker ETHK, marking the first time a U.S. regulator has approved crypto products with this level of leverage.
While the SEC has approved the listing, trading cannot commence until the agency declares the funds' Form S-1 registration statements effective. The SEC has not set a timeline for this review. No launch date has been announced for either fund.
How the 3x Leverage Works
Both funds aim to deliver three times the daily performance of their underlying futures benchmarks. They do not hold spot Bitcoin or Ether directly, but instead track futures-based measures of each asset's price.
The funds target three times the return over a single trading day, then reset the following session through a process called daily rebalancing. Over one day, if the benchmark rises, the fund aims to rise approximately three times as much before fees and costs. If the benchmark falls, the fund aims to fall three times as much.
Over longer periods, returns can diverge significantly from three times the asset's move due to daily rebalancing compounding effects. In volatile markets where prices fluctuate without sustained directional movement, a leveraged fund can lose value even if the underlying asset ends near its starting point. This effect, known as volatility decay, intensifies with larger and more frequent price swings.
These products are designed for traders planning to hold positions for hours or days rather than years.
Regulatory Structure and Existing Products
These products fall under the Securities Act of 1933 rather than the Investment Company Act of 1940. This distinction exempts them from the 1940 Act's leverage limits, enabling 3x products to exist within the regulatory framework.
Volatility Shares already manages a 2x Bitcoin ETF under ticker BITX, which holds over $1.2 billion in assets. The approval of the new 3x products would extend the firm's leveraged cryptocurrency offerings.
What Remains Pending
The SEC approval authorizes listing on the exchange but does not permit trading to begin. The registration statements must be declared effective before either fund can trade. Additionally, the full approval encompasses six triple-leveraged products beyond the two Bitcoin and Ether funds, though those other four products have received less public attention.
