ProShares ETF targets Bitcoin selloff
ProShares' Short Bitcoin Strategy ETF will trade under the ticker symbol BITI
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Investors who have turned bearish on Bitcoin in light of its recent selloff will be able to take advantage of a new exchange-traded fund launching on Tuesday.
The ProShares Short Bitcoin Strategy ETF, which will trade under the ticker symbol BITI, is designed to address the challenge of acquiring short exposure to the world's largest cryptocurrency, which can be onerous and expensive for many investors.
BITI, which seeks to obtain exposure through bitcoin futures contracts, will track the opposite performance of the S&P CME Bitcoin Futures Index each day.
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The launch comes as Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have struggled in sympathy with the broader stock market, which is contending with scorching-hot inflation.
The world's largest cryptocurrency is currently trading around $20,000 per coin on Monday, well off its 52-week high of $68,990.90 hit last year, after briefly falling to a 52-week low of $17,601.58 per coin over the weekend.
"As recent times have shown, bitcoin can drop in value," ProShares CEO Michael Sapir said in a statement. "BITI affords investors who believe that the price of bitcoin will drop with an opportunity to potentially profit or to hedge their cryptocurrency holdings."
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ProShares will also launch BITIX on Tuesday, a mutual fund with the same investment objective as BITI.
"With the additions of BITI and BITIX, ProShares and ProFunds will be the only fund families in the U.S. offering funds that allow investors to express their view on the direction of bitcoin — no matter whether they believe the price will go up or down," Sapir added.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BITO | PROSHARES BITCOIN STRATEGY ETF - USD DIS | 24.66 | +1.08 | +4.58% |
The launch of BITI and BITIX comes after ProShares launched BITO, the first U.S. bitcoin-linked ETF, in October 2021, which attracted more than $1 billion in assets from the public in just two days. The firm also launched the first bitcoin-linked mutual fund, BTCFX, in July 2021.
ProShares, which offers one of the largest lineups of ETFs, manages more than $50 billion in assets in partnership with its affiliates.