ETF News You Missed This Week - Aug. 4-8, 2025

U.S. Weekly ETF Industry Update

It was another packed week in the ETF world, with launches spanning concentrated value plays, global macro strategies, digital asset-linked debt, leveraged single-stock trades, and niche thematic ideas.

New Launches

• John Hancock added its 17th ETF with JDVL, the Disciplined Value Select ETF. Managed by Boston Partners, it holds 35–40 high-conviction U.S. value names chosen for strong business momentum.
• BlackRock rolled out IDYN, an active international equity factor rotation ETF. The 0.40% TER fund shifts between momentum, value, and low volatility exposures across developed markets outside the U.S.
• First Trust introduced DGLO, tracking the RBA U.S. Deglobalization Index. It focuses on U.S. companies benefiting from re-shoring and reduced supply chain dependence, with heavy weights in industrials, energy, materials, transportation, defense, and cybersecurity.
• ProShares launched CRCA, a 2× leveraged ETF tied to Circle (CRCL), giving short-term traders amplified exposure to the stablecoin issuer’s stock.
• Defiance ETFs brought two niche leveraged products: VIXI, combining a long VIX position with a leveraged short S&P 500 bet, and QPUX, a 2× leveraged quantum computing basket of IONQ, RGTI, QBTS, and QUBT.
• Direxion launched four single-stock ETFs: SHPU (+2× Shopify), SHPD (–1× Shopify), LMTL (+2× Lockheed Martin), and LMTS (–1× Lockheed Martin).
• TrueShares converted RiverNorth’s 20-year-old mutual fund into CEFZ, an active ETF investing in closed-end funds and ETFs, targeting income with a 10% annual distribution rate.
• Oasis Capital Partners launched DADS, a digital asset debt ETF investing mainly in convertible and high-yield debt from crypto-linked firms.
• Tortoise Capital debuted TCAI, an AI infrastructure ETF focused on energy, data centers, and hardware suppliers essential to AI adoption.
• Virtus launched ASGM, a global macro ETF blending equity exposure with systematic strategies for cycle-resilient investing.
• Morgan Stanley converted its mortgage securities trust into EVMO, an active ETF focused on agency and non-agency MBS, CMBS, and ABS.

Recent Filings

Activity on the filing front was equally busy:

• REX Shares applied for a series of IncomeMax leveraged tech and crypto ETFs, plus a weekly-REX Shares seeks approval for 10 IncomeMax ETFs tied to 2× leveraged versions of major tech and crypto names like Tesla, Nvidia, Apple, Bitcoin, and more, aiming for weekly payouts via options and Treasuries. It also filed for the IncomeMax Option Strategy ETF using covered and synthetic options for weekly income, plus three single-stock leveraged ETFs tied to Firefly Aerospace and Figma.
• Core Alternative Capital filed the Optimized Equity Income ETF, an active large-cap strategy using covered calls for income and puts for downside protection, with 25–75% options exposure.
• Roundhill plans 14 WeeklyPay™ ETFs offering 1.2× weekly total returns on indexes and assets from Treasuries to Bitcoin, with variable weekly distributions.
• Tradr applied for 20 single-stock ETFs providing 2× daily leveraged exposure to a mix of tech, energy, retail, and biotech names.
• Voya filed for three active bond ETFs: Core Bond (investment-grade, 3–10 year duration), Multi-Sector Income (up to 65% high yield), and Ultra Short Income (under one-year duration), all ESG-integrated.
• Collaborative Investment Series Trust submitted the PL Growth and Income ETF, a multi-asset portfolio of U.S. stocks, bonds, and preferreds with covered calls and puts for income.
• Donoghue Forlines filed for an ETF tracking its Innovation Tech Index, focused on semiconductors, intelligent systems, and digital infrastructure.
• FINQ AI proposed two AI-managed ETFs: one holding the top-ranked S&P 500 stocks, the other dollar-neutral long top 10 and short bottom 10, both rebalanced quarterly.
• Global X plans the U.S. Natural Gas ETF, tracking upstream and midstream companies meeting reserve or revenue criteria.
• Defiance filed for five more 2× single-stock leveraged ETFs tied to names like Energy Transfer, MP Materials, and QuantumScape.
• Gladius Capital outlined a suite of active ETFs using derivatives for yield, volatility trading, lower-volatility commodity exposure, and downside-protected equity strategies.
• Roundhill intends to relaunch its Meme Stock ETF (MEME), targeting 13–25 highly volatile, social media-driven names, rebalanced weekly.

Industry Developments

• Harvard’s $53.2B endowment disclosed a $116M stake in BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF, making it the fifth-largest position in its portfolio.
• BlackRock publicly denied rumors it is pursuing spot ETFs for XRP or Solana.
• SEC Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw’s continued opposition to crypto ETFs has weighed on perceived approval odds for an XRP ETF.
• ETF industry veterans Matt Middleton and Anil D. Aggarwal have acquired a majority stake in ETF.com, with plans to pivot toward events and networking.
• Chainlink launched onchain data streams for U.S. equities and ETFs, enabling tokenized stocks and synthetic ETFs across 37 blockchains.

Please note this article is for information purposes only and does not in any way constitute investment advice. It is essential that you seek advice from a registered financial professional prior to making any investment decision.