ProShares Wants to Launch a Metaverse ETF. Here’s What You Should Know.

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ProShares is asking the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for permission to launch a metaverse ETF that would attempt to “track the performance of” companies involved in the metaverse. The information was disclosed in an SEC filing by ProShares that became public today.

A concept image of the metaverse with two young adults wearing virtual reality headsets.

Source: Shutterstock

Consisting “of virtual reality, augmented reality and the internet,” the metaverse refers to a combination of real and computer-based environments. The metaverse is also supposed to have an economic system and enable individuals to visit various locations.

More About the Proposed Metaverse ETF and ProShares

ProShares wants its metaverse ETF to be called ProShares Metaverse Theme ETF. The fund would seek to emulate the performance of the Solactive Metaverse Theme Index, ProShares stated in its filing with the SEC.

Among the stocks in the index are the following large tech firms: Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) and Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:FB), which was previously called Facebook.

ProShares has launched and managed ETFs since 2006. It currently has many, diverse ETFs, under its umbrella. In October, ProShares launched a Bitcoin Strategy ETF (NYSEARCA:BITO) that reportedly became “the first bitcoin futures ETF to go live in the U.S.” following the SEC’s approval of the fund. As of the end of last month, the ETF had net assets of $1.4 billion.

ProShares says that its Bitcoin Strategy ETF “is the first U.S. ETF designed to provide investors an easy way to add bitcoin exposure to [their] portfolios.”

Many Companies Are Becoming Involved in the Metaverse

Dozens of companies are getting involved in the metaverse. In addition to the large tech companies named above, video game makers Roblox (NYSE:RBLX), Niantic, Epic Games and Decentraland (CCC:MANA-USD) are among the firms seeking to build the metaverse.

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney in October said that the metaverse could eventually become a “multi-trillion” dollar endeavor. For its part, Meta Platforms is looking to invest $10 billion at a minimum just in 2021 on its metaverse projects.

“We are committed to bringing this long-term vision to life and we expect to increase our investments for the next several years,” the company wrote in conjunction with its third-quarter earnings results.

On the date of publication, Larry Ramer did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.

Larry Ramer has conducted research and written articles on U.S. stocks for 15 years. He has been employed by The Fly and Israel’s largest business newspaper, Globes. Larry began writing columns for InvestorPlace in 2015. Among his highly successful, contrarian picks have been SMCI, INTC, and MGM. You can reach him on Stocktwits at @larryramer.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2021/12/proshares-wants-to-launch-a-metaverse-etf-heres-what-you-should-know/.

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