Key takeaways:
- ProShares, an ETF issuer with $65 billion in assets under management (AUM), is launching BITI, the first short BTC-linked ETF in the US
- BITI will allow investors to gain exposure to futures-based Bitcoin short contracts
- The new short-tracking BTC ETF is launching on June 21st
ProShares is Launching the first US short-tracking Bitcoin ETF
ProShares, the Maryland-headquartered issuer of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), is launching the first short Bitcoin-linked ETF in the United States. As the name suggests, the ProShares Short Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITI) will let traders pursue investment opportunities pertaining to Bitcoin’s negative price movements.
According to the press release, BITI will provide the “inverse (opposite) of the performance of the S&P CME Bitcoin Futures Index.” The new ETF, which is launching on June 21st, will seek exposure via Bitcoin derivates products, namely, the futures contracts.
The launch of the new cryptocurrency tracking financial products comes at a time when Bitcoin – along with the entire cryptocurrency market – is struggling to stave off selling pressure that has been dominating the sector in recent months. As of press time, Bitcoin is showing a negative monthly price change of 27.9%, changing hands more than two-thirds removed from its November all-time high of $68,700.
ProShares CEO Michael L. Sapir had this to say about the launch of BITI:
“As recent times have shown, bitcoin can drop in value. BITI affords investors who believe that the price of bitcoin will drop with an opportunity to potentially profit or to hedge their cryptocurrency holdings. BITI enables investors to conveniently obtain short exposure to bitcoin through buying an ETF in a traditional brokerage account.”
In addition to BITI, the company will also be launching Short Bitcoin Strategy ProFund (BITIX), for clients who prefer using the mutual fund investment approach.
This is not ProShares’ first foray into the cryptocurrency space. Last year, the company became the first to launch a futures-based Bitcoin ETF in the US, dubbed ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO). BITO saw close to $1 billion in capital inflows in the first couple of days, which earned the product a spot among the most successful ETF launches of all time.
