(Bloomberg) — ProShares is planning to launch an exchange-traded fund focused on the metaverse, according to a Tuesday filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
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If approved, the ProShares Metaverse Theme ETF will track the performance of the Solactive Metaverse Theme Index.
The index consists of companies that provide or use technologies that offer products and services around the metaverse, like data processing and metaverse devices. Apple Inc., Meta Platforms Inc., and Nvidia Corp. are the index’s top weightings.
ProShares is the latest firm seeking to capitalize on the emerging metaverse trend. Global metaverse ETF assets have surged to $2.2 billion as of Dec. 28, with most ETFs only launched in the last quarter. The Roundhill Ball Metaverse (ticker META) has swelled to $916 million assets under management since its June 30 launch. In November, Canada saw two metaverse ETFs launched in one day.
“I don’t know if the metaverse theme has legs, but investors believe in it. Given the success of the ETF META, we are likely to see more products come to market that offer a unique twist on this long-term theme,” said Todd Rosenbluth, director of mutual fund and ETF research at CFRA.
The Metaverse Theme ETF caps a monumental year for ProShares, in which it became the first firm to win approval from the U.S. SEC to launch a Bitcoin futures ETF. The fund debuted as the second-most heavily traded ETF on record.
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