ProShares, the sponsor of the first-ever exchange-traded fund (ETF) backed by bitcoin futures, has applied for a waiver to limits the amount of bitcoin futures a buyer can purchase in the new fund, Barron’s reported.
Starting with the November front-month contract, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) will limit the amount of futures that a buyer can buy in the new ETF to 4,000, dropping to 2,000 three days before expiration. As each contract represents five bitcoin, total ownership is limited to 20,000 bitcoin.
To get around this limit, ProShares has already split its futures portfolio with half in October and half in November.
CEO Michael Sapir told Barron’s that if the CME doesn’t grant the waiver, ProShares could shift assets into later-dated contracts, structured notes or swaps. Barron’s also noted that ProShares’ prospectus for the ETF says the fund could also invest in equities with crypto exposure.
