The Proshares UltraShort Ether ETF (ETHD) has become the best-performing exchange-traded fund of 2025, according to Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas. Its year-to-date return stands at an eye-popping 247%.

The leveraged ETF product provides twice the opposite of the daily performance of the Bloomberg Ethereum Index. 

For instance, if Ethereum drops 10% in a day, ETHD is meant to add 20%. However, it is worth noting that the ETF resets on a daily basis, so its performance might not necessarily match the -2x performance of Ether. 

The ETF uses Ethereum futures contracts for betting against the flagship altcoin. It does not short the cryptocurrency directly. 

Such products are designed for sophisticated market participants who want to profit from market volatility. Traders have to deal with potential volatility decay as well as leverage risks. 

That said, it is worth noting that the fund is actually in the red over the past six months with a decline of 0.93%. 

Ethereum's disastrous year 

Notably, the T-Rex 2X Inverse Ether Daily Target ETF (ETQ) comes in second place with gains of more than 100%. 

Ethereum's extremely dismal performance has been on everyone's lips over the past few months. 

As reported by U.Today, the ETH/BTC pair recently reached yet another multi-year low. 

The leading altcoin is still down by nearly 14% over the past week despite the recent recovery fueled by the tariff reversal. 

According to data provided by SoSoValue, Ethereum ETFs lost a total of $3.29 million on Tuesday. The flagship iShares Ethereum Trust(ETHA) is down 52% on a year-to-date basis.