After Bitcoin Futures ETF Launch, ProShares Plans Metaverse Fund

Key Takeaways

ProShares has filed an application for a Metaverse-themed ETF with the SEC.
If approved, ProShares’ ETF will track the performance of the Solactive Metaverse Theme Index.
ProShares recently launched the first Bitcoin futures ETF.

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Following its Bitcoin futures ETF launch, ProShares is now planning a Metaverse-themed fund.

ProShares Requests Metaverse ETF

ProShares, the investment management firm that recently launched the first Bitcoin futures ETF, has filed an application for a Metaverse-themed ETF.

The new product is titled “Metaverse Theme ETF.” If the firm’s application is approved by the SEC, the product will let American investors get exposure to public companies operating in the Metaverse space.

“The Metaverse” refers to a future iteration of the Internet, where users will be able to connect with others, play games, earn tokens, and more within immersive virtual worlds. It’s often used interchangeably with “Web3” as crypto enthusiasts believe that blockchain technology will underpin the Internet of the future. The Metaverse became a dominant theme in crypto after Facebook announced its rebrand to Meta back in October.

ProShares is hoping to ride on the success of the Metaverse narrative with its proposed fund by tracking the performance of a basket of assets selected by the German Index provider Solactive. The index includes publicly listed firms that provide a variety of services for the Metaverse sector, including data processing, digital infrastructure, gaming, payments, and virtual reality devices. Apple, Meta, and Nvidia are the top-weighted companies. The application follows Proshares’ widely publicized Bitcoin futures’ ETF launch, which went live on the New York Stock Exchange on Oct. 19.

ProShares is not the first firm to offer an ETF targeting the Metaverse. In June, Roundhill Ball Metaverse ETF launched a similar exchange-traded fund that holds roughly $903 million in assets under management. Mirae’s Tiger Metaverse and Samsung’s Kodex Metaverse both launched in South Korea, while two ETFs tracking the Solactive index are live on the Toronto Stock Exchange in Canada.

The Solactive index doesn’t feature any blockchain-native projects, but that might be because the most prominent Metaverse projects in crypto are neither managed by publicly listed firms nor supervised by financial regulators like the SEC. However, that hasn’t stopped the sector from booming: GameFi projects like Decentraland and The Sandbox have seen their native tokens soar since Facebook’s Meta announcement, while leading crypto companies like Enjin, KuCoin, and Solana Ventures have announced nine-figure funds dedicated to building out the Metaverse.

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