ETF News You Missed This Week - Sep. 1-5, 2025

New Launches: Leveraged, Tax-Efficient, and Thematic ETFs

Leveraged ETFs once again dominated new product activity. GraniteShares launched the GraniteShares 2x Long eToro ETF (ETRL) and the GraniteShares 2x Long Webull ETF (BULX), offering traders amplified daily exposure to two well-known brokerage firms.

Defiance ETFs expanded its single-stock suite with three new funds: the Defiance 2x Long Arista Networks ETF (ANEL), the Defiance 2x Long Philip Morris ETF (ZYN), and the Defiance -2x Inverse Eli Lilly ETF (LLYZ). Each uses swaps and options to magnify daily returns, targeting active traders who want leveraged upside or inverse exposure without margin accounts.

Innovation extended beyond leverage. LionShares made its debut with the LionShares Tax-Efficient U.S. Equity ETF (TOT), designed to reduce tax drag by avoiding dividends and retaining earnings.

Grayscale continued building its crypto-income lineup with the Grayscale Ethereum Covered Call ETF (ETCO), an actively managed strategy writing options on Ethereum-linked ETPs to provide bi-weekly distributions. This complements its existing Grayscale Bitcoin Covered Call ETF (BTCC) and Grayscale Bitcoin PutWrite ETF (BPI).

Meanwhile, SoFi introduced the SoFi Agentic AI ETF (AGIQ), which tracks the BITA US Agentic AI Select Index and provides exposure to companies like Tesla, NVIDIA, and Salesforce developing autonomous, decision-making AI systems.

Fund Updates and Restructurings

LifeX announced a major streamlining of its Longevity Income ETF range, consolidating 28 funds into just four target-maturity products set for 2050, 2055, 2060, and 2065. The move, effective September 15, is designed to simplify investor choices without changing payout goals.

In another notable adjustment, the Cyber Hornet S&P 500 and Bitcoin 75/25 Strategy ETF changed its ticker from ZZZ to BBB. The hybrid fund, which blends 75% exposure to the S&P 500 with 25% to Bitcoin futures, returned 39% in 2024 and ranked in the top 2% of Morningstar’s Large-Blend category.

Closures

Not every strategy found its footing.

VanEck announced it will liquidate two of its ESG-themed products: the VanEck Morningstar ESG Moat ETF (MOTE) and the VanEck Wide Moat Growth ETF (MGRO). Trading will cease on September 19, with liquidation proceeds distributed around September 26.

Filings: A Look at What’s Coming

The filings pipeline remains packed with leveraged, active, and crypto-linked ideas.

Defiance submitted applications for additional single-stock leveraged ETFs with 150–200% daily exposure to names like DigitalOcean, Hertz, Newegg, The NFT Gaming Company, and Rumble. PeakShares filed for an actively managed equity allocation fund that blends S&P 500 sector exposures with discretionary stock selection.

Leverage Shares proposed a new set of capped accelerated ETFs aiming for 2x monthly returns, with exposure to Applovin, Hims, Robinhood, Eli Lilly, and others.

NEOS plans to expand its high-income lineup with two funds: the NEOS Boosted Bitcoin High Income ETF, targeting 37–45% yield through synthetic Bitcoin-linked exposure, and the NEOS Boosted S&P 500 High Income ETF, which combines equity exposure with call and put overlays modeled after SPYI.

VistaShares was especially active, filing for multiple new ETFs including Bitcoin and Ethereum Treasury Income ETFs, an Ethereum-focused synthetic exposure ETF, and an IPO-Focused Income ETF targeting recently listed companies.

Finally, Alpha Architect filed for an actively managed large-cap U.S. growth equity ETF that emphasizes sales growth, earnings momentum, and price performance.

Milestones for Issuers

The week also delivered important milestones. BlackRock’s iShares brand surpassed $5 trillion in global ETF assets under management, driven by investor demand for accessible, risk-managed exposure.

VistaShares crossed $500 million in AUM less than a year after launch, powered by strategies such as the VistaShares Omaha Income ETF (OMAH) and thematic funds like AIS and WILD, with a fifth fund (ACKY) set to debut September 9.

Defiance ETFs celebrated a milestone as well, with the Defiance Quantum Computing ETF (QTUM) surpassing $2 billion in assets while maintaining a 5-star Morningstar rating.

Ecosystem Developments

Innovation extended into the broader ETF ecosystem. Ondo Finance launched Ondo Global Markets, a tokenized securities platform offering over 100 tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs through an integration with Alpaca, with plans to expand to more than 1,000 by year-end. These products, backed by custodians holding the underlying assets, are designed to expand market access across APAC, Africa, and Latin America.

Coinbase also made headlines with the upcoming launch of Mag7 + Crypto Equity Index Futures on September 22. The futures contract blends exposure to mega-cap U.S. tech names such as Apple, Nvidia, and Tesla with crypto-linked ETFs from BlackRock, aiming to attract traders at the intersection of equities and digital assets.

In case we missed any, our partners Trackinsight got it covered with this full expanded Western ETF markets recap.

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.