SEC Clears 3x Bitcoin and Ether Products as Crypto Lobby Bets Big on U.S. Midterms

SEC Approves Cboe Listing of Six 3x Products

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved a Cboe BZX Exchange rule change on October 2. The decision allows the exchange to list six triple-leveraged products from Volatility Shares. The lineup includes a 3x Bitcoin product and a 3x Ether product, alongside funds tied to gold, silver, crude oil and natural gas.

Despite the "ETF" label in their names, the funds are legally exchange-traded products holding commodity-linked investments. They are not regulated under the Investment Company Act of 1940, which governs conventional ETFs. The Bitcoin strategy targets three times the daily return of a futures benchmark, so investors get exposure through futures contracts rather than direct ownership of Bitcoin. Volatility Shares already offers 2x Bitcoin and Ether products under the tickers BITX and ETHU.

The approval does not mean trading starts immediately. Each fund still needs an effective registration statement before its shares can begin trading.

Why Leverage Carries Extra Risk

A 1% gain in the benchmark would translate into a targeted 3% daily gain before fees, but a 1% drop would mean a targeted 3% loss. Daily rebalancing also means longer-term results can diverge sharply from three times the benchmark's cumulative performance. FINRA has warned that this compounding effect can widen in volatile markets, which is why such products are generally considered tools for short-term, experienced traders.

Bitcoin reacted calmly to the news and was trading in the mid-$80,000s on Monday.

Crypto PAC Unveils Bipartisan House Slate

On the political side, the crypto industry's top campaign organization is moving ahead of the November 3 midterms. Fairshake revealed a list of House members it plans to back, including 19 Republicans and 13 Democrats. Six of them are set to receive $1 million each in spending. According to the Associated Press, all 32 supported legislation that was a top priority for the industry.

The group and its affiliated PACs reported about $120 million in cash on hand at the end of August. The timing matters. The CLARITY Act, the market structure bill the industry has pushed for, stalled after a failed Senate procedural vote in mid-September. With Congress now in its final recess before the election, the industry is looking to the next Congress to revive the legislation.

What It Means for U.S. Crypto

Taken together, the two stories point in the same direction. Regulators are gradually expanding the range of crypto-linked products available on U.S. exchanges, while the industry is investing heavily to secure a friendlier legislative environment. For traders, the new leveraged products add more tools but also more risk. For the broader market, the November results could decide whether comprehensive crypto legislation moves forward in 2027.