The Daily Ledger: 5 October 2026

Subject: Three times bitcoin for a day, not for a year
Preview: The SEC has cleared the way for the first 3x bitcoin and ether funds. How the daily reset works, Hong Kong's licensing timetable, and why upgrade deadlines attract scammers.

THE DAILY LEDGER

5 October 2026
A US order opens the door to triple-leverage crypto funds, Hong Kong sets a year-end date for new licensing law, and a tokenised stock venue files its notice.

Reporting window: weekend items not covered in the 4 October issue, up to 5 October 2026, 06:00 UTC (08:00 Europe/Stockholm), before Monday's US open. The SEC order discussed below is dated Friday 2 October. Prices are CoinGecko's 00:00 UTC snapshot of 5 October, compared against the previous day's 00:00 UTC snapshot. No US ETF session has completed since Friday. This issue was published retrospectively on 16 October 2026 to fill a gap in the archive; it uses only information available at the cutoff.

How do 3x leveraged bitcoin ETFs work? On Friday 2 October the Securities and Exchange Commission approved a Cboe BZX rule change allowing six such funds to list, including a 3x Bitcoin ETF and a 3x Ether ETF sponsored by Volatility Shares. The short answer: they target three times one day's move, then reset, which is not the same as three times your return.

1. The Day in Numbers

• Bitcoin: $86,490, up 2.06 percent against the previous day's 00:00 UTC snapshot. CoinGecko daily series: 5 October, 00:00 UTC.
• Ether: $2,725.91, up 1.45 percent on the same basis.
• Fear and Greed: 70, Greed, up 5 points from 65. Alternative.me's daily reading for 5 October.
• Bitcoin market value: $1.738 trillion at the same CoinGecko snapshot.

2. How do 3x leveraged bitcoin ETFs work?

The SEC order (Release 34-106577) says each fund seeks daily results, before fees and expenses, equal to three times the daily performance of its benchmark, a basket of first- and second-month futures contracts. The bitcoin fund will hold regulated futures, not bitcoin. That sets it apart from a spot ETF, where a custodian holds the coins, as our spot ETF custody explainer shows.

Daily is the word that matters. To restore three times exposure, the fund rebalances after every session, adding futures after a gain and cutting them after a loss. Compounding those resets makes the result depend on the path bitcoin takes, not only where it ends.

A worked example shows the effect. If bitcoin alternates a 5 percent rise and a 5 percent fall for ten days, it ends about 1.2 percent lower. A fund that triples each day's move ends about 10.8 percent lower, not 3.7 percent. In a steady climb of 2 percent a day, bitcoin gains 21.9 percent and the fund 79.1 percent, more than three times. Choppy markets erode these funds and trends flatter them. Before fees, a one-day fall of about a third in the benchmark would wipe one out.

The order approves the exchange's listing rule; SEC staff issued it under delegated authority, and no public comments were received. The funds' own registration must still become effective before shares trade, and no launch date had been announced by our cutoff, as early coverage noted. The order also reminds brokers of existing duties: a recommendation must suit the customer, and FINRA applies stricter sales and margin standards to leveraged products.

3. Today's Headlines

Hong Kong sets a year-end date for licensing law

Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Christopher Hui told the Legislative Council's financial affairs panel on Monday morning, Hong Kong time, that the government will submit a bill within this year creating licensing regimes for virtual asset dealing, custody, advisory and management services. The statement is published in Chinese only.

A tokenised stock venue files its notice

OKXICE, the joint venture of OKX and NYSE owner ICE, has notified the SEC that it plans a venue for tokenised shares of more than 60 US-listed companies under September's Innovation Exemption, CoinDesk reported. Listed companies get 30 days to object, so this is a filing, not a launch.

Congress leaves for the campaign

With the midterm election on 3 November, Congress is in its final pre-election recess, CoinDesk's State of Crypto notes. Market structure legislation is stalled; crypto tax bills are moving instead.

4. Security Note

Zcash's NU7 upgrade is live on the public testnet, cutting the target block time from 75 to 25 seconds ahead of a planned 5 November mainnet launch, with a decision due on 20 October. It also disables Sprout, the network's oldest private pool, so holders there must move funds before activation. Deadlines attract impostors offering "migration help". Use only your wallet software's own tools, found through the project's official site typed by hand. No genuine migration asks for your recovery phrase.

5. From the Academy Library

Our explainer on ETF creation and redemption shows how fund shares stay close to their holdings, and funding rates on perpetual futures cover the other common way traders rent leverage. New readers can start at Academy School.

A 3x fund is a one-day instrument in a wrapper that can be held forever. The wrapper is the easy part to understand.

Disclaimer: This publication is for education and information only. It is not financial, investment, legal, tax, or security advice.

Sources and further reading

• SEC: Order approving Cboe BZX listing of six 3x funds, Release 34-106577, 2 October 2026
• edgeX News: 3x bitcoin and ether products approved, trading awaits registration, 3 October 2026
• Hong Kong Government: SFST opening remarks to the LegCo financial affairs panel, 5 October 2026 (Chinese)
• CoinDesk: OKX and ICE joint venture files for 24/7 tokenised US stock trading, 5 October 2026
• CoinDesk: There's an election next month, State of Crypto, 4 October 2026
• CoinDesk: Zcash's 25-second blocks go live on public testnet, 5 October 2026
• CoinGecko: bitcoin daily price and market value series
• CoinGecko: ether daily price series
• Alternative.me: Fear and Greed Index, daily readings