Defiance ETFs has filed for regulatory approval of 4 new exchange-traded funds (ETFs), a few of which embrace simultaneous lengthy Bitcoin (BTC) and quick Ethereum (ETH).
A Might 6 submitting with the US Securities and Trade Fee (SEC) revealed the funds, which embrace the Bitcoin vs. Ethereum ETF, which is lengthy BTC and quick ETH; the Ethereum vs. Bitcoin ETF, which is lengthy ETH and quick BTC; the Bitcoin vs. Gold ETF, which is lengthy BTC and quick gold; and the Gold vs. Bitcoin ETF, which is lengthy gold and quick BTC.
Beneath the BattleShares label, the submitting buildings every fund to trace the leveraged efficiency of 1 asset versus one other utilizing derivatives. Every fund is actively managed and seeks whole return by means of artificial publicity to the underlying belongings.
Goal publicity sometimes ranges from +150% to +220% for lengthy positions and -150% to -220% for brief positions.
Artificial publicity to lengthy Bitcoin, quick Ethereum
Reasonably than holding spot belongings, the funds set up leveraged publicity utilizing a mix of futures contracts, swaps, choices, and US-listed ETFs or exchange-traded merchandise (ETPs).
Based on the prospectus, the construction of ETFs goals to benefit from worth differentials between lengthy and quick asset pairs.
The funding thesis behind the Bitcoin vs. Ether ETF is to generate returns when Bitcoin outperforms Ether over the holding interval. Conversely, the Ether vs. Bitcoin ETF is for traders anticipating stronger efficiency from Ether.
Not one of the ETFs make investments instantly within the belongings they monitor. As a substitute, they acquire publicity utilizing monetary devices issued by different funds or derivatives markets.
The place essential, as much as 25% of belongings could also be allotted to a Cayman Islands subsidiary to take care of favorable US tax therapy underneath Regulated Funding Firm (RIC) guidelines.
The submitting provides that the by-product construction permits the funds to keep away from custody dangers related to direct holdings of digital belongings or bodily gold.
Nonetheless, this construction introduces extra complexity, together with publicity to counterparty danger, tax constraints, and excessive turnover as a result of frequent rebalancing.
Excessive-turnover technique and operational design
The funds are designed to be non-diversified and may have excessive portfolio turnover as a result of frequent rebalancing pushed by market volatility, asset momentum, and by-product expiration cycles.
The technique includes repeatedly adjusting publicity to take care of goal leverage and stability between the paired lengthy and quick positions.
Resulting from leverage, traders may even see amplified positive aspects or losses relative to the underlying asset actions. The product documentation notes that efficiency is predicated on relative, not absolute, asset values, making the ETFs unsuitable for directional publicity to a single asset.
The year-to-date efficiency of the “lengthy Bitcoin, quick Ethereum” technique could be extremely worthwhile for traders. As of press time, BTC is up by 1%, whereas ETH is down by almost 47% in the identical interval.
