ARK and 21Shares launched active bitcoin and ether futures ETFs on Cboe

ARK Investment Management and 21Shares put two actively managed cryptocurrency-futures exchange-traded funds onto Cboe BZX on November 14, 2023. Cboe’s new-issue notice identified the ARK 21Shares Active Bitcoin Futures Strategy ETF under ticker ARKA and the ARK 21Shares Active Ethereum Futures Strategy ETF under ticker ARKZ, with both scheduled to begin trading at the exchange’s new-issue auction around 9:30 a.m. Eastern time.

The verified event was the start of exchange trading for regulated fund shares—not approval of a spot bitcoin or spot ether ETF, and not a purchase of either crypto asset by the funds. That distinction was central to what the products offered in the institutional market of November 2023.

What the funds actually held

The two funds sought capital appreciation through standardized, U.S.-dollar cash-settled futures subject to the rules of a Commodity Futures Trading Commission-registered exchange such as CME. ARKA targeted bitcoin-futures exposure; ARKZ targeted ether-futures exposure. Their disclosed structure also allowed collateral and liquidity holdings, including U.S. government securities and other cash equivalents.

Neither fund’s stated strategy involved directly holding bitcoin or ether. A futures contract can track the direction of a reference market while producing a return different from the underlying asset. Contract pricing, collateral returns, trading costs and the recurring need to replace expiring contracts all create potential tracking differences.

“Active” referred principally to selecting and rolling futures contracts rather than mechanically holding one contract until a fixed rollover date. The managers said they would consider cost, liquidity and other factors in seeking attractive contracts and roll yield. That claim described a process and objective, not a verified ability to outperform bitcoin or ether.

The contemporaneous prospectuses listed a 0.70% management fee and a 0.70% total annual fund operating expense ratio for each fund. Those percentages excluded some costs identified in the documents, including brokerage commissions and certain non-routine expenses. They were fund terms, not measures of return.

Why November 14 mattered

ARKA and ARKZ expanded the menu of exchange-traded crypto exposure available through conventional U.S. brokerage infrastructure. Fund shares could be traded on Cboe BZX, while the portfolios obtained price exposure through regulated futures rather than requiring shareholders to manage wallets, private keys or direct crypto custody.

The wrapper did not remove crypto-market risk. The prospectuses warned about volatility, derivatives losses, futures-market capacity, rolling costs, liquidity and the possibility that share prices could differ from net asset value. Cboe also made no recommendation about the products in its listing notice.

21Shares and ARK promoted five actively managed funds as a suite on November 14, including mixed and equity-linked strategies. The exchange’s dated new-issue record, however, specifically confirms ARKA and ARKZ as the two products whose first trading date was November 14. Keeping those claims separate avoids turning a suite-level launch announcement into an unsupported assertion that all five had identical operating dates.

Later record check

A later EA Series Trust shareholder report filed with the SEC confirms November 14, 2023 as the inception date for ARKA and ARKZ. It records November 15, 2023 for three companion funds. That later filing clarifies chronology; it does not change what Cboe and the sponsors documented on November 14.

The launch showed another route by which traditional fund infrastructure was being connected to digital-asset markets. It did not settle the separate regulatory question surrounding spot crypto ETFs, guarantee close tracking of spot prices, or establish future investor demand.