Summary
- The SEC greenlit Cboe's proposal on October 2 to list six 3x leveraged funds from Volatility Shares that will track Bitcoin, Ethereum, gold, silver, crude oil, and natural gas.
- Each fund aims to achieve three times the daily performance of futures contracts related to its underlying asset, but no specific launch date has been announced.
- This approval comes after the SEC issued warnings regarding leverage exceeding 2x in December 2025 and requested in March 2026 to avoid products with 5x leverage.
On October 2, the SEC approved a regulatory change that allows the Cboe exchange to list six funds designed to deliver three times the daily price fluctuations of Bitcoin, Ethereum, gold, silver, crude oil, and natural gas, according to the agency's announcement.
The funds, created by Volatility Shares, will operate similarly to existing 2x Bitcoin and Ethereum funds and will trade on Cboe's BZX Exchange like standard stocks.
Myriad: Predict Bitcoin's price movement.Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are collections of assets that investors can buy and sell through brokerage accounts, and leveraged ETFs utilize debt and financial instruments to amplify potential returns and losses.
The goal for these funds is to achieve triple the daily performance. For instance, if Bitcoin futures increase by 2% in a single day, the fund seeks to rise by 6%. Conversely, if the futures drop by 2%, the fund intends to decrease by 6%.
These funds primarily gain exposure through futures contracts, which are agreements to buy or sell an asset at a predetermined price at a future date.
However, it is essential to note that the term "daily" is significant. These funds reset their positions each day, meaning the 3x target applies only to daily performance. Over extended periods, the actual outcomes can diverge considerably from three times the asset’s performance.
For example, if Bitcoin futures decrease by 10% on a Monday and then increase by 10% on Tuesday, the asset may end up down 1%. In contrast, a 3x fund would drop 30% on Monday, recover 30% on Tuesday, and still be down 9%. If you owned $100 worth of Bitcoin, a 30% loss would reduce your value to $70, and a 30% gain from this amount would add $21, leaving you with $91, which is a net 9% loss after the fluctuations.
BitcoinBTC · USD$85,649+1.91%24H7D1M1YYTDSep 28Sep 30Oct 2Oct 4Oct 5$86.8k$85.5k$84.2k$83.0k24h HighHigh$86,94924h LowLow$85,010VolVol$1.5BMarket projectionsOdds by MyriadThis weekBelow $86,000Below $86k55% chance→Buy Bitcoin with USDTPowered by Jupiter$50$100$500BuyPrice data by CoinGeckoCoinGeckoMore Bitcoin news and projections →The SEC and FINRA have cautioned investors about the potential discrepancies in returns over time, indicating that results can significantly deviate from the daily targets.
Reason Behind SEC's Vote
The Cboe exchange's expedited listing procedures for commodity funds do not encompass products designed to achieve multiple returns of an asset's performance, necessitating individual SEC approval for these funds. Besides targeting 3x returns, these funds must comply with all other Cboe listing criteria.
The SEC relied on established protections, mandating that brokers operate in the best interest of retail clients under Regulation Best Interest, while FINRA imposes stricter sales and margin requirements for leveraged offerings.
Volatility Shares introduced the first leveraged crypto ETF in the U.S. in 2023, which tracked Bitcoin futures. After a decade of rejections, spot Bitcoin ETFs that directly hold the cryptocurrency became available in January 2024.
This led to a surge in applications for more leveraged products. In October 2025, Defiance submitted a proposal for 49 funds featuring 3x long and short exposures, while Volatility Shares filed for 5x leveraged products.
The SEC responded by halting the review of products with leverage exceeding 2x in December 2025 and sent warning letters to nine issuers, including ProShares. In March 2026, the agency recommended avoiding 5x products.
Despite this, Volatility Shares continued to launch 2x funds. In April 2026, it launched 2x funds for Cardano, Stellar, and Chainlink, adding to its existing offerings for Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and XRP.
These are not the first 3x products; previous offerings linked to silver, crude oil, and natural gas from other companies have exited the market, according to the order. A 3x gold product from another issuer is still available for trading.
The SEC's order does not specify a launch date. According to Cboe's filing, trading cannot commence until the registration statement for each fund is effective.