The 2 best-performing exchange-traded funds (ETFs) year-to-date are uncovered to brief Ethereum (ETH) 2x leveraged positions.
Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas shared on April 9 that the UltraShort Ether ETF (ETHD), managed by ProShares, surpassed 247% in year-to-date returns and registered practically $14 million in belongings beneath administration.
REX Shares’ T-Rex 2X Inverse Ether Each day Goal ETF (ETQ) adopted carefully, with a 219.2% efficiency in the identical interval and $1.57 million in belongings.
Balchunas stated:
“The very best performing ETF this yr is the -2x Ether ETF $ETHD, up 247%. #2 is the opposite -2x Ether ETF. I used to be positive it will be $UVIX (2x VIX), however that’s #3. Brutal.”
Ethereum worth reversal fuels inverse efficiency
Though the funds are designed for short-term directional publicity, the extended drawdown in Ether has created circumstances beneath which each day compounding results have amplified positive aspects for inverse leveraged merchandise.
Whereas dangerous over prolonged durations as a result of path dependency, these mechanics have favored these funds in a sustained downward worth atmosphere.
Based on Balchunas, this efficiency surpassed that of UVIX, a 2x leveraged VIX-linked ETF, which had been anticipated to prime the leaderboard however at the moment ranks third at 171.7% returns.
The outperformance of ETHD and ETQ coincides with a pointy correction in Ethereum’s worth because the starting of 2025.
As of April 9, ETH is down 50%, a correction that was softened after President Donald Trump paused for 90 days the tariffs for nations open to barter with the US. In the identical interval, the crypto market averaged a 48.5% correction, in response to Artemis information.
The efficiency is available in a yr when volatility and macroeconomic uncertainty have produced uneven circumstances throughout digital belongings, with leveraged inverse merchandise benefiting from directional bias over a number of classes.
Ethereum’s weak point has additionally diverged from Bitcoin’s (BTC) 12.4% year-to-date correction, suggesting extra resilience amid ETF inflows and institutional curiosity.
Moreover, the BTC/ETH pair reached an all-time low of 0.1855 BTC on April 9, sustaining a descending development that began in September 2022.
