ProShares Launching Metaverse ETF

ProShares applied to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for an exchange-traded fund (ETF) focused on the metaverse on Tuesday (Dec. 28), according to a CoinDesk report.

If the SEC approves the application, the ProShares Metaverse Theme ETF would track the performance of the Solactive Metaverse Theme Index, a list of companies exposed to the metaverse industry.

The index will give the ETF exposure to U.S. companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) or the Nasdaq that meet certain market capitalization and liquidity requirements, ProShares said in the filing.

The Solactive Metaverse Theme Index includes tech giants including Apple, Microsoft, Intel, Meta Platforms and Nvidia.

The metaverse brings together virtual worlds, augmented reality (AR) and internet services, and has become a popular investment vehicle, especially since Facebook rebranded to Meta in late October with an eye toward moving beyond social media.

If approved, ProShares will join four ETFs in South Korea, two in Canada and the Roundhill Ball ETF that is trading on the NYSE.

In October, ProShares became the first company to garner SEC approval for a bitcoin futures ETF, which trades under the ticker “BITO” on the NYSE.

Related: Bitcoin Daily: Brazilians Have Bought Over $4B in Cryptos This Year; Bitcoin ETF From ProShares Begins Trading; Coinbase to Be Official NBA Crypto Platform

ProShares’ bitcoin futures ETF trading followed months of applications from various ETF providers in which ProShares won out.

Critics are still skeptical of the idea of a futures ETF, saying there’s a big risk in purchasing something complex and confusing to the average retail investor.

Also Read: Metapunks Launches Public Sale of NFT Metaverse Avatars

Meanwhile, Metapunks became available to the general public on Tuesday (Dec. 28) through a sale of the 3D-generated non-fungible token (NFT) metaverse avatars.

Minted on the Algorand blockchain, Metapunk avatars are multifunctional 3D models that can be viewed and integrated into different metaverses, games and social media platforms. The first 2,000 Metapunks were sold privately, according to a company announcement.