The ProShares Short Bitcoin ETF incoming

6/20/2022, 08:05 PM
The ProShares Short Bitcoin ETF incoming
Eight months after launching the first bitcoin futures ETF in the US, ProShares plans to launch the first short-bitcoin-pegged ETF in the US on Tuesday, the investment products provider said on Monday.
Listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker BITI, the ProShares Short Bitcoin strategy aims to provide investors with an opportunity to profit from falls in the cryptocurrency's price. It will have an expense ratio of 0.95%.
Bitcoin fell to a fresh 2022 low of $17,601.58 over the weekend, according to Coin Metrics, after six months of decline amid a sell-off in risky assets.
"As recent evidence has shown, bitcoin can lose value," Michael Sapir, CEO of ProShares, said in a press release on Monday. “BITI offers investors who believe the price of Bitcoin will fall an opportunity to profit from or hedge their cryptocurrency holdings.
BITI will be the first ETF of its kind in the United States. Horizons ETFs has a short bitcoin ETF listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
ProShares said that BITI is designed to provide the inverse performance of the S&P CME Bitcoin Futures Index and to seek exposure through Bitcoin futures contracts.
It remains to be seen how well the start will go. Markets remain uncertain as investors await next steps from the Federal Reserve and signs of rising inflation, but many are still speculating that the cryptocurrency market is at or near a bottom.
On Monday, bitcoin was around 70% below its all-time high, set in early November, just weeks after ProShares launched the Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO). Bitcoin quickly turned back down and has been declining ever since.