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 almost $14 million in belongings below administration.
REX Shares’ T-Rex 2X Inverse Ether Each day Goal ETF (ETQ) adopted intently, 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 might 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 situations below which every day compounding results have amplified positive aspects for inverse leveraged merchandise.
Whereas dangerous over prolonged intervals attributable to path dependency, these mechanics have favored these funds in a sustained downward worth atmosphere.
In line with Balchunas, this efficiency surpassed that of UVIX, a 2x leveraged VIX-linked ETF, which had been anticipated to high the leaderboard however presently ranks third at 171.7% returns.
The outperformance of ETHD and ETQ coincides with a pointy correction in Ethereum’s worth for the reason that 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 international locations open to barter with the US. In the identical interval, the crypto market averaged a 48.5% correction, in keeping with Artemis information.
The efficiency is available in a yr when volatility and macroeconomic uncertainty have produced uneven situations 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 pattern that began in September 2022.
