Tuttle Capital seeks SEC approval for leveraged ETFs tied to crypto tokens including $TRUMP

By Suzanne McGee

Jan 28 (Reuters) - Tuttle Capital Management is seeking approval to launch 10 new leveraged exchange-traded funds tied to a wide array of cryptocurrencies that include the just-launched $TRUMP and $MELANIA tokens, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday.

Tuttle, which made its name developing leveraged ETFs tied to high-flying technology and meme stocks like MicroStrategy MSTR.O, wants to roll out ETFs that will seek to produce a return double that of each of an array of 10 coins, ranging from relatively mainstream Solana to lesser-known digital tokens such as Polkadot, to the Trump products that have been trading for only about a week.

"These are trading tools and very, very speculative," said Bryan Armour, ETF analyst at Morningstar.

Matthew Tuttle, the firm's founder and CEO, told listeners on a webinar last week that he anticipated his then-upcoming filing would cause "a little bit of a stir, which I do not mind doing."

"I believe that if you want extraordinary results you do not get them by doing what everyone else is doing," Tuttle said.

So far, only one issuer has sought approval to issue leveraged ETFs tied to any cryptocurrency other than bitcoin or ether. ProShares earlier this month filed for approval for leveraged and inverse ETFs tied to both XRP and Solana. But Armour and other analysts have said this puts the cart before the horse, since the SEC has yet to approve a spot ETF tied to either coin, or anything not linked to bitcoin or ether.

The SEC did not respond to a request for comment. Last week, the agency said it had established a task force to develop a regulatory framework to guide it in dealing with crypto assets.

The first applications to introduce a non-leveraged ETF linked to Solana were filed last summer but there currently is no deadline for the SEC to approve or reject them. The first proposal to roll out an ETF tied to the Trump coins was filed a week ago, only days after the coin itself began trading.

"I think that anyone trying to create a leveraged ETF based on some of these coins would face massive obstacles," said Armour.

These are not the only innovative ETF products for which Tuttle is seeking the go-ahead from regulators. Last week, the firm filed to create funds tied to zero-day options on widely-traded and volatile stocks like Nvidia NVDA.O and Tesla TSLA.O. So far, however, single-stock options are not available on a daily basis.

"But I think they will one day," Tuttle said.

Equally, he expects a market to emerge for leveraged exposure to $TRUMP.

"We could be about to see a golden age of crypto beyond bitcoin and ether and a whole slew of new things we just never thought of before," Tuttle told Reuters on Tuesday. "I think having access to those is going to be important."