Proposed ‘AfterDark’ Bitcoin ETF Would Skip U.S. Trading Hours

• Nicholas Financial has filed with the SEC to launch a bitcoin ETF that holds BTC only during overnight hours.
• The “AfterDark” ETF buys bitcoin after U.S. stocks close for the day and then sells bitcoin and shifts into Treasuries during the American session.
• Data shows bitcoin tending to perform better when traditional U.S. markets are closed.

Weary U.S.-based bitcoin BTC$92,329.23 bulls might think it's their imagination that they seem to wake up every morning to BTC doing pretty well only for prices to head lower during the U.S. trading session.

They are, in fact, not imagining things.

Data from crypto analytics platform Velo.xyz shows that over the past year, bitcoin is more likely to be in the green when traditional U.S. markets are closed and in the red when they're open.

Bloomberg's Eric Balchunas said the data on better performance after U.S. hours was similar for 2024 as well and suggests the spot ETFs or derivatives positioning could be having an impact.

Seeking to take advantage, Nicholas Financial Corporation, a boutique wealth management firm, has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to launch a bitcoin BTC$92,329.23 ETF that holds the asset only during overnight hours, opting out of the U.S. trading day entirely.

The fund, called the Nicholas Bitcoin and Treasuries AfterDark ETF (NGTH), would buy bitcoin at 4 p.m. ET—when U.S. markets close—and sell by 9:30 a.m. ET the following day, before the markets reopen. During daytime hours, the fund would rotate into short-term U.S. Treasuries to preserve capital and generate yield.

The firm also submitted paperwork for a second product, the Nicholas Bitcoin Tail ETF (BHGD).

If approved, the ETF would add a novel twist to the growing ecosystem of bitcoin investment products by treating time of day as a key factor in its strategy.

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• Bitcoin markets in Asia are stabilizing but remain structurally weak, with short-term holders dominating supply.
• U.S. ETF flows have shown signs of stabilization, but on-chain activity remains near cycle lows, indicating weak capital inflows.
• Bitcoin and Ether have seen price recoveries driven by spot demand and improved sentiment, while gold is supported by U.S. labor data and Fed rate cut expectations.

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