Leveraged Ether ETFs Enter The Market

New Ethereum ETFs are entering the market, with Volatility Shares launching the first 2x leveraged Ether ETF on June 4 and ProShares set to launch two leveraged exchange-traded funds investing in ETH derivatives this week.

On June 4, Volatility Shares, an issuer of leveraged and inverse ETFs, launched its 2x Ether ETF (ETHU). ETHU became the first 2x leveraged Ether ETF to operate in the United States and hosted $5 million in volume on its first day of trade, according to Bloomberg.

Eric Balchunas, a senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg, described ETHU’s debut performance as “great for a new launch,” with ETHU processing more volume than all unleveraged Ether futures ETFs did on their first day combined. “Still pretty microscopic vs anything Bitcoin,” he added.

On June 4. ProShares, an ETF issuer, announced that the ProShares Ultra Ether ETF (ETHT) and ProShares UltraShort Ether ETF (ETHD) will debut on the New York Stock Exchange on June 7. ETHT and ETHD offer investors long and short exposure to Ether at 2x leverage, respectively. ProShares said ETHD will comprise the first 2x short ETF to launch in the United States.

“These new ETFs are designed to address the challenge of acquiring leveraged or short exposure to Ether, which can be onerous and expensive,” said Michael Sapir, the CEO of ProShares CEO. “ETHT offers investors the opportunity to pursue magnified Ether returns or target a level of exposure with less money at risk. ETHD allows investors to seek profit when the price of Ether drops or hedge their ether exposure.”

Defiance ETFs also filed for a 2x leveraged Ether ETF in April.

The news comes as analysts anticipate the first spot Ether ETFs will launch in the United States within the coming months.

Spot ETFs differ from derivatives-based funds by holding the underlying asset they track, which can exert bullish buying pressure on the asset’s markets. For example, spot Bitcoin ETFs have accumulated nearly $15 billion worth of BTC since debuting in early January, according to Sosovalue.

While the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved the 19b-4 filings from spot Ether ETF applicants on May 23, the regulator still needs to greenlight the funds’ S-1 registration statements. The SEC requested amended S-1 statements from the applicants by May 31.

Balchunas recently tweeted that he believes it would be possible for the funds to debut in late June, early July is a more realistic timeline. However, Nate Geraci, co-founder of the ETF Institute, posted that it could take up to three months for the spot Ether ETFs to begin trading.

The price of ETH is up 1.2% over the past 24 hours after trending sideways this week. ETH last changed hands for $3,797, according to CoinGecko.