The US Securities and Exchange Commission approved a Cboe BZX Exchange rule change on October 2, 2026 that clears six 3x leveraged exchange-traded products from Volatility Shares’ VS Trust for listing and trading, including a 3x Bitcoin ETF and a 3x Ether ETF, according to Cointribune. The other four products in the lineup target gold, silver, crude oil and natural gas.
The approval covers the listing rules only. Trading cannot begin until a separate Form S-1 registration statement becomes effective, and no timeline for that has been disclosed. Coinpedia reported that the six products will not physically hold Bitcoin, Ether, precious metal bars or barrels of oil, relying instead on regulated futures contracts.
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Key facts
- The SEC approved the rule change on 2 October 2026 under Release No. 34-106577, covering six series of the Volatility Shares (VS) Trust, sponsored by Volatility Shares LLC, according to Cryptobriefing.
- Each fund aims to deliver three times the daily performance of its underlying asset before fees; a 1% daily move in the asset would translate to roughly a 3% move in the fund.
- Cboe BZX filed the proposed rule change on August 10, 2026. Cointribune reported the SEC published the proposal for comment on August 19, while Cryptobriefing put the publication date at August 14.
- Trading cannot start until a separate Form S-1 registration statement under the Securities Act of 1933 becomes effective; SEC staff must declare it effective before public tickers can trade, per Coinpedia.
- Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas called the decision a “big win” for Volatility Shares, which previously launched the 2x Bitcoin ETF (BITX) and 2x Ether ETF (ETHU).
What the SEC actually approved
Because these leveraged commodity-linked trust products do not follow the usual listing path for commodity trusts, the SEC reviewed each file separately rather than as a single batch. The six funds will pursue their exposure mainly through futures contracts, supplemented by cash, and will adjust that exposure daily.
Bitcoin and Ether ETPs will track CME Group futures prices, according to Coinpedia, rather than holding the underlying assets directly. Cryptobriefing noted the approval bundles digital commodities into the same action as gold and crude oil.
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The leverage caveat
The 3x objective applies to a single day, not to longer stretches. A sequence of daily moves can pull a fund’s cumulative return away from three times the underlying asset’s return, and FINRA has warned about that risk. Futures contracts also expire, so the funds must keep rolling into new ones, and those roll costs can weigh on performance over time. If the nearest expirations are unavailable, the funds may turn to longer-dated contracts, other listed products or options.
Why it matters
This is the first US approval of triple-leveraged ETPs linked to Bitcoin and Ether, though leveraged exposure of this kind already exists in international markets. For Volatility Shares, the green light extends a product line that began with 2x crypto funds. The funds are not covered by the Investment Company Act of 1940, the framework for traditional investment funds, so they remain subject to the rules that apply to their structure and related assets. Approval does not guarantee assets: XRP ETFs turned red in early October, while Bitcoin ETFs had drawn $3.1 billion over a nine-day inflow streak before recording their first outflow.
What to watch
The immediate milestone is the effectiveness of the Form S-1 registrations, which will set the launch date; no specific date is given in the current filings. After listing, investment flows will indicate whether demand matches the product design.
This article is not financial advice. Leveraged and futures-based products are volatile, and their returns over time can differ materially from the underlying asset’s performance.
Reported by cointribune.com.
Sources: Cointribune, Coinpedia, Cryptobriefing