SEC Clears 3x Leveraged Bitcoin and Ethereum Funds

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved a rule change on October 2 allowing the Cboe exchange to list six leveraged funds from Volatility Shares, according to Decrypt. The products are designed to deliver three times the daily price performance of Bitcoin ($BTC), Ethereum ($ETH), gold, silver, crude oil, and natural gas.

Each fund targets triple the daily performance of futures contracts on its respective underlying asset. According to the regulatory order, the shares will trade on Cboe's BZX Exchange like a regular stock. The offering follows previous SEC warning letters on leverage above 2x issued in December 2025 and a March 2026 request for issuers to avoid 5x products.

Daily Reset and Drift Risks

Leveraged funds use debt and financial instruments to amplify returns as well as losses. Because the products reset their exposure daily, the triple-target applies strictly to one day at a time. Over longer holding periods, compounding and volatility can cause results to drift significantly from three times the underlying asset's cumulative move.

The SEC and FINRA have previously issued alerts regarding this mechanic, noting that returns over extended stretches can differ substantially from the stated daily target. Cboe's fast-track listing rules exclude products chasing multiples of an asset's return, requiring these funds to secure individual SEC approval alongside standard exchange listing requirements.

Regulatory Guardrails

Broker-dealers remain subject to Regulation Best Interest when offering the products to retail customers, while FINRA enforces stricter sales and margin requirements for leveraged investments. Volatility Shares previously launched the first U.S. leveraged crypto ETF tracking Bitcoin futures in 2023. The latest order sets no specific launch date, as shares cannot begin trading until each fund's registration statement takes effect.

Key facts

• The SEC approved Cboe's request on October 2 to list six 3x funds from Volatility Shares.
• The underlying assets include Bitcoin, Ethereum, gold, silver, crude oil, and natural gas.
• Funds target triple the daily performance of futures contracts and reset exposure every day.
• The regulatory order sets no specific launch date pending registration statement effectiveness.