Ethereum Watch

Defiance ETFs, a US exchange-traded fund (ETF) sponsor and registered investment advisor, has filed an application with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to launch a 2x leveraged Ethereum futures ETF.

According to Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart, if approved, the ETF could start trading as early as the end of June under the ticker “ETHL.”

Defiance ETFs just filed for a 2x leveraged #ethereum futures ETF. Will potentially trade under the ticker $ETHL pic.twitter.com/9Z6M6tcQ3V

— James Seyffart (@JSeyff) April 8, 2024

The proposed ETF, known as the Defiance 2X Ether Strategy ETF, aims to deliver two times the daily return of the CF Rolling CME Ether Futures Index. The ETF is designed to provide investors with more aggressive exposure to the price movements of Ethereum. At the same time, “it is also riskier than alternatives that do not use leverage.”

Defiance stated in the filing that the fund “seeks to benefit from increases in the price of Ethereum Futures Contracts.”

The filing comes a few days after Defiance submitted an application to the SEC to offer a 2x leveraged ETF to short MSTR stock. Tidal Investments LLC has been appointed as investment adviser for both funds.

As of April 2024, Defiance ETFs has 9 ETFs traded on US markets, with total assets under management of around $1.4 billion, according to data from VettaFi.

Defiance ETFs’ products are focused on innovative and disruptive sectors, such as next-gen connectivity, quantum computing, next-gen H2, treasury alternative yield, and S&P 500 target income, among others.

The filing comes amid growing debate over the SEC’s potential approval of a spot Ethereum ETF. With a May deadline looming, industry insiders are skeptical about the chances of a green light.

At the time of writing, Ethereum is trading at around $3,700, up around 8% in the last 24 hours, CoinGecko’s data shows.