In a regulatory filing dated December 9, 2025, Nicholas Wealth LLC, in partnership with Tidal Investments LLC, submitted two Bitcoin-linked exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) — products that combine quantitative engineering with a dash of late-night television flair. One fund aims to harvest Bitcoin's so-called "overnight alpha," while the other is designed to cushion investors during extreme market downturns.
The 'Bitcoin After Dark' ETF: A Nocturnal Quant Experiment
The first product, the Nicholas Bitcoin and Treasuries AfterDark ETF (ticker: NGHT), takes long Bitcoin exposure only after the U.S. market closes, then pivots into Treasuries and cash equivalents during the day. It does not hold spot Bitcoin directly; instead, it uses U.S.-listed Bitcoin futures, Bitcoin ETPs, and options to build its nightly stance. According to the prospectus, historical data shows average overnight returns of approximately 0.093%, compared with -0.029% during U.S. trading hours. Portfolio turnover is expected to be high, and up to 25% of assets may run through a Cayman Islands subsidiary for derivatives flexibility.
Bloomberg Senior ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas commented on X: "Bitcoin After Dark ETF could put up better returns, we'll see tho. Bigger takeaway here is the ETF industry is going to try everything you can poss imagine and some things you can't imagine."
Tail-Risk Hedging: The 'Sleep-at-Night' ETF
The sibling fund, the Nicholas Bitcoin Tail ETF (ticker: BHDG), is a hedge-first, returns-second strategy. It uses long puts on Bitcoin ETFs or indices to shield investors during sharp drawdowns, financing those hedges with sold calls or call spreads. If Bitcoin plunges, the structure is designed to go up; if Bitcoin stays flat, puts decay; if Bitcoin surges, call spreads cap upside. Treasuries and money-market funds serve as steady collateral. Like NGHT, BHDG avoids direct spot Bitcoin exposure, keeping the strategy within regulatory comfort zones while leaning heavily on derivatives.
The risk sections in the filings read like a crash course in cryptocurrency reality: volatility, forks, leverage dynamics, liquidity gaps, counterparty exposure, tax rules, and the ever-present specter of Bitcoin's 24/7 trading cycle overwhelming traditional fund structures.
A New Era of Bitcoin ETFs
Both funds are expected to debut in 2026 if approved by the SEC, which will review the filings over the coming months. These filings signal a shift from "Bitcoin in an ETF" to "Bitcoin sliced into time-windows and risk-profiles." Whether they attract meaningful assets will depend on performance, market conditions, and investor appetite for specialization. As Balchunas noted, the ETF industry is "having fun" — and filing paperwork at a pace that suggests caffeine futures might be the next hot commodity.