Bitwise Files Election Prediction ETFs, Regulatory Scrutiny Intensifies

Bitwise Asset Management filed a request with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on February 18 for approval to launch a new set of exchange-traded funds related to the outcome of future U.S. elections.

According to the filing, the new “PredictionShares” ETFs are set to be listed on NYSE Arca and will be based on binary event contracts related to the 2028 presidential election and the 2026 Senate and House of Representatives elections. Each fund would pay out if a specific party wins and lose all value substantially if the opposite outcome occurs.

A post by journalist Eleanor Terrett states that Bitwise Asset Management has joined Roundhill Investments in filing for new exchange-traded funds related to political prediction markets.

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Bitwise Faces Potential Regulatory Scrutiny

The six ETFs proposed to be listed on NYSE Arca include individual funds for Democratic and Republican wins in the presidential, Senate, and House of Representatives elections. Each ETF would invest at least 80% of its assets in political event contracts listed on exchanges regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

“The fund’s investment objective is to provide capital appreciation” in the event of a win by a specified party, according to the filing. Nevertheless, the prospectus also cautions that a loss of “substantially all” invested capital is possible if the predicted outcome does not occur.

According to Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart, Roundhill Investments has filed for similar ETFs in the past, indicating an increasing level of competition in the burgeoning market for the financialization of prediction politics.

If approved, the products would represent one of the first attempts to package political event contracts inside a traditional ETF wrapper, further expanding the financialization of prediction markets.

These new ETFs would be one of the first to package political event contracts within a traditional ETF structure, further financializing the prediction market industry.

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