ProShares preps short ether futures ETF for trading

ProShares launched three ether futures ETFs earlier this month. Now, the firm is preparing to offer something a bit different. 

The fund group’s Short Ether Strategy ETF (SETH) appears set to start trading in the coming days, about two weeks after the first ether futures ETFs arrived on the market.

To be listed on the NYSE Arca exchange, SETH seeks daily investment results that correspond to the inverse of the daily performance of the S&P CME Ether Futures Index, according to a Friday filing. 

The fund does not directly short ether (ETH). Instead, it aims to benefit from decreases in the asset’s price, the prospectus notes.

The price of ETH was about $1,540 at 4 pm ET on Friday — down roughly 6% from seven days ago.  

ProShares expects the registration statement for SETH “to go effective” on Oct. 15 and intends to launch the fund in early November, a source familiar with the filing told Blockworks.

The three existing ProShares ether futures funds — including two that invest in both ether and bitcoin futures contracts — debuted on Oct. 2 alongside similar products by VanEck and Bitwise.

Read more: Underwhelming: week-one demand stays soft for ETH futures ETFs 

The US Securities and Exchange Commission greenlit ether futures ETFs two years after the first bitcoin futures ETF — the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) — came to market in October 2021. 

ProShares followed up its bitcoin futures ETF launch with that of its Short Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITI) in June 2022. BITO and BITI have about $850 million and $75 million in assets, respectively.

Updated Oct. 13, 2023 at 5:21 pm ET: Modified for additional context.

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