The SEC’s 3x bitcoin ETF approval of October 2, 2026, arrived as an exchange listing order, not a fund launch. The Securities and Exchange Commission approved a Cboe BZX rule change (Release No. 34-106577) that lets the exchange list six triple-leveraged products from Volatility Shares: the 3x Bitcoin ETF, 3x Ether ETF, 3x Gold ETF, 3x Silver ETF, 3x Crude Oil ETF and 3x Natural Gas ETF.
The order was issued by the Division of Trading and Markets under delegated authority. Cboe BZX filed the proposal on August 10, 2026, and it was published in the Federal Register on August 19. The order says the Commission received no comments.
What the funds are
Each fund is a series of the VS Trust. Volatility Shares LLC is the sponsor, Wilmington Trust, National Association, is the trustee and U.S. Bank National Association is the custodian, according to the order.
Each fund seeks, before fees and expenses, three times the daily performance of a benchmark made of first- and second-month futures contracts on its commodity. The 3x Bitcoin ETF does not hold bitcoin. It holds futures that trade on a CFTC-registered designated contract market, plus cash and cash equivalents as collateral. If those contracts become unavailable because of position limits, margin changes or similar constraints, a fund may use later-dated futures, other exchange-traded products tied to the same commodity, or listed options on them.
Despite the “ETF” in their names, the order classifies the funds as Commodity-Based Trust Shares. That makes them exchange-traded products registered under the Securities Act of 1933 but not regulated as investment companies under the Investment Company Act of 1940.
Why a separate filing was needed
In September 2025 the SEC approved generic listing standards that let exchanges list Commodity-Based Trust Shares without an individual rule filing. Those standards exclude products that seek a multiple or an inverse of a benchmark’s return. The order says the six funds meet every other generic requirement, so the 3x objective was the one point the Commission had to approve.
It pointed to leveraged products already trading, among them the Volatility Shares 2x Bitcoin ETF (BITX) and 2x Ether ETF (ETHU), and said applying the same standards to products with the same underlying exposure “levels the playing field between issuers.”
Investor protection in the order
The Commission relied on existing conduct rules rather than new conditions. Broker-dealers recommending the shares to retail customers are subject to Regulation Best Interest, advisers owe a fiduciary duty, and FINRA applies stricter sales-practice and margin requirements to leveraged and inverse products. Cboe BZX’s own Rule 3.7 adds a suitability duty for exchange members.
FINRA’s Regulatory Notice 09-31 explains why the daily objective matters: because of compounding, the performance of daily-reset leveraged funds over longer periods “can differ significantly from their stated daily objective.”
The representations in Cboe’s filing become continued listing requirements. If a fund falls out of compliance, the exchange must begin delisting procedures.
What the order does not say
The order approves the exchange rule. It gives no trading date and no fee for any of the funds.
The approval follows the SEC’s October 1 crypto custody proposal for advisers and funds. This article describes a regulatory decision and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any product.
Questions readers ask
Is the 3x Bitcoin ETF trading yet?
The order approves Cboe BZX’s listing rule only. It names no trading date.
Does the fund hold bitcoin?
No. It holds first- and second-month bitcoin futures traded on a CFTC-registered designated contract market, plus cash collateral.
Why is it not regulated like most ETFs?
The order classifies it as a Commodity-Based Trust Share: registered under the Securities Act of 1933, but not an investment company under the 1940 Act.
