SEC Approves First US 3x Leveraged Bitcoin and Ether ETFs

The US Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday, October 2, 2026 approved a Cboe BZX Exchange rule change that clears the way for the first 3x leveraged bitcoin and ether exchange-traded products in the United States. The order (Release No. 34-106577) covers six Volatility Shares funds, including the 3x Bitcoin ETF and the 3x Ether ETF. The shares cannot start trading yet: the trust's registration statement is not effective.

What the SEC approved

Cboe BZX filed the proposal, SR-CboeBZX-2026-065, on August 10. The SEC published it for comment on August 19, received no comments, and approved it under the standard Section 19(b)(2) process rather than on an accelerated basis. The order was issued by the Division of Trading and Markets under delegated authority.

The approval covers six funds, each a series of the VS Trust sponsored by Volatility Shares LLC: 3x Gold ETF, 3x Silver ETF, 3x Bitcoin ETF, 3x Ether ETF, 3x Crude Oil ETF and 3x Natural Gas ETF. The trust's Form S-1 lists the proposed tickers as BITH for the bitcoin fund and ETHK for the ether fund.

Each fund seeks three times the daily performance of its benchmark, before fees and expenses. For bitcoin, that benchmark is a portfolio of first- and second-month bitcoin futures traded on the CME, not spot bitcoin. The funds hold those futures plus cash collateral, and the S-1 sets the management fee at 1.85% per year.

Despite the "ETF" in their names, the SEC's order notes these are commodity-based trust shares, not funds regulated under the Investment Company Act of 1940. Cboe needed a specific rule filing because BZX's generic listing standards exclude leveraged products.

Why trading has to wait

An exchange approval only lets Cboe list the shares. The funds still need an effective registration statement under the Securities Act before a single share can trade.

Cboe's own filing was explicit: "the Shares will not trade on the Exchange until such time that the registration statement is effective." The VS Trust filed its S-1 on August 17, 2026, marked "Subject to Completion." As of this writing, EDGAR shows no notice of effectiveness for that filing.

Volatility Shares has not announced a launch date.

The numbers

• 3x: the daily leverage target for each of the six funds.
• 1.85%: the annual management fee stated in the S-1.
• August 10 to October 2: 53 days from filing to approval.
• 2x: the leverage of the Volatility Shares products already trading, the 2x Bitcoin ETF (BITX) and 2x Ether ETF (ETHU), which the SEC cited in its order as examples of leveraged exposure already on US exchanges.

Bitcoin traded near $84,605 at the time of writing, roughly flat on the day, with ether near $2,678 (Yahoo Finance).

Why it matters for bitcoin holders

The approval says something about the regulatory climate. The SEC's reasoning leaned on its September 2025 generic listing standards for commodity-based trust shares and on the view that consistently applying listing rules across products with the same underlying exposure "levels the playing field between issuers." That is a regulator treating bitcoin and ether like gold, silver and crude oil.

For anyone who actually holds bitcoin, the product itself deserves caution. These funds reset their leverage every day. Over longer periods, daily compounding means returns can drift far from three times bitcoin's move, especially in choppy markets. They also track futures, which carry roll costs that spot bitcoin does not. The SEC's order itself points out that FINRA imposes heightened sales-practice and margin requirements on leveraged products and that Regulation Best Interest applies when brokers recommend them.

For long-term holders who want exposure without selling, the more common tools remain spot bitcoin ETFs, direct custody, or a bitcoin-backed loan. 21Rates tracks and compares those options, from spot bitcoin ETFs to current lending and borrowing rates.

What to watch

• An effectiveness notice for the VS Trust S-1 on EDGAR, which is the gate for a launch date.
• Whether other issuers now file for 3x crypto products on the back of this order.
• Volatility Shares' launch announcement and the final prospectus.

Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas summed up the market read within hours of the order: "Big win for VolatilityShares." For the rest of the market, the real test comes once BITH and ETHK actually trade.

Sources: SEC approval order, Release 34-106577; SEC notice of filing, Release 34-106137; VS Trust Form S-1, August 17, 2026.