Bitcoin Bears Might Benefit From These Inverse Crypto ETFs

Key Points

• The price of Bitcoin is down almost a quarter year-to-date as a long-standing, if uneven, rally has faltered.
• Two dedicated exchange-traded funds, BITI and SBIT, provide -1x and -2x daily exposure to the price of Bitcoin, respectively, although they are highly risky trades.
• An alternative, SETH, mimics BITI's -1x approach but focuses on the price of Ether instead.

It seemed for a while that a meteoric—if uneven—rise in Bitcoin was all but inevitable, as the top cryptocurrency flew past the $100,000 threshold midway through 2025. However, an October high couldn't last, and despite making a modest recovery to end the year, BTC is once again plummeting early in 2026. In fact, Bitcoin has shed about a quarter of its value since the start of the year and has now sunk to just above half what it traded for only a few months back.

Longtime "HODL-ers" might be willing to ride out a potential prolonged drop in the price of Bitcoin, but more active investors seeking to stop the bleeding are perhaps more likely to find a way to win gains even as the cryptocurrency market is falling. One of the best ways to make a direct bet against Bitcoin or another cryptocurrency is through a unique crypto exchange-traded fund (ETF) with a short strategy. Though these funds tend to be highly risky, in the right circumstances, they can turn a bad day for Bitcoin into a win for individual investors.

Liquid and Popular Fund Aiming For -1X Bitcoin Performance

One of the more straightforward ETFs shorting the cryptocurrency space is the ProShares Short Bitcoin ETF NYSEARCA: BITI. BITI aims for a -1x relationship to the daily performance of Bitcoin, meaning that when the price of Bitcoin falls in a single day, BITI should replicate that in the positive direction. The effect is similar to what many investors may seek with crypto margin trading or exchange-traded futures contracts, but it comes with a significantly lower hurdle for investors unfamiliar with those strategies.

BITI uses a portfolio of futures and swaps to replicate the inverse of the performance of Bitcoin and does not actually short Bitcoin directly. As such, the fund's strategy is somewhat risky, and it is not designed to correspond to the price movement of Bitcoin over a longer period than one day. This makes it appropriate only for investors trading actively and with a fairly high tolerance for risk.

Given the unique nature of BITI's investment strategy, investors may be willing to tolerate its high expense ratio of 1.01%. The fund also provides monthly distributions, with a dividend yield of 2.26% as an added bonus. The fund also has a one-month average trading volume above 3 million, helping to ensure that investors don't run into liquidity issues.

Highly Risky Double Inverse Approach For Investors Willing to Take the Chance

Investors finding that BITI doesn't give them enough exposure may take a chance on the ProShares UltraShort Bitcoin ETF NYSEARCA: SBIT. SBIT takes a very similar approach to BITI above, but it aims for -2x returns rather than -1x. While this can magnify gains on a day in which Bitcoin drops in price, it can also double losses if the crypto heads in the other direction. As such, SBIT is even riskier than BITI.

SBIT comes with a slightly lower annual fee of 0.95% and with comparable trading volume, so liquidity should not be a concern in this case either. Its dividend yield is not as compelling as BITI's, though, at just 0.61%.

Distributions may not be the primary appeal here, as investors targeting SBIT are likely doing so on a strong conviction that Bitcoin is headed downward on any given day.

Ether Alternative, But Trading Volume Is a Red Flag

Bitcoin still commands a strong gravitational pull in the cryptocurrency space, and when BTC prices fall, so too do the prices of most other cryptos. Finding ways to short other cryptocurrencies can be tougher, but the ProShares Short Ether ETF NYSEARCA: SETH is a convenient way to make a bet against the price of Ether, the second-largest token by market cap.

SETH is also offered by ProShares, like both funds above, and takes a similar approach to BITI, although it focuses on Ether instead of Bitcoin. The fund aims for -1x exposure to the price of Ether and also resets daily.

It comes at a slightly lower price of 0.95% annually, making it a bit more affordable than BITI. In exchange, though, investors should be prepared to deal with a fund that is much less popular—SETH has just $16 million in assets under management and a one-month average trading volume below 84,000, so liquidity may very well be a concern for those looking to make quick trades.