SEC approves first leveraged Bitcoin futures ETF

The first leveraged Bitcoin derivative will be tradable in the US as early as this week.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), according to public documents approved a leveraged bitcoin futures ETF for the first time.

According to the filing, the "2x Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITX)" will launch on Chicago Board Options (CBOE) trading platform BZX as early as Tuesday, June 27.

The company's derivative Volatility Shares allows mainly institutional investors to speculate on the price of the largest cryptocurrency with double leverage. The product is based on the Bitcoin Index of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME).

BITX thus joins the list of existing bitcoin futures ETFs. They are considered a precursor to a spot Bitcoin ETF, where a fund actually acquires physical BTC.

However, the SEC has rejected such a product several times in the past because of the perceived risk of price manipulation.

The ETF application from asset manager BlackRock, however, created new hope in the crypto sector in recent days. According to these, the company's influence and expertise with US$10 quadrillion in assets could convince the SEC to approve it.

As such, the community sees the approval of the latest leveraged product as a positive sign for the spot ETF in the US. Although there are also skeptical questions are on why complex leveraged derivatives are approved before supposedly less risky spot ETFs for Bitcoin.