U.S. Firm Reveals Proposal for After-Hours Bitcoin Trading Fund
A curious trend in Bitcoin trading has encouraged a U.S. wealth manager to build an ETF around an idea most traders only joke about: Bitcoin often behaves better while Americans are asleep.
Nicholas Financial Corporation has asked regulators to approve a fund that trades BTC only outside normal U.S. equity hours. Instead of tracking the cryptocurrency continuously, the vehicle would step into Bitcoin at the closing bell and step back out before New York trading restarts.
During the daytime lull, the ETF intends to park its capital in short-term Treasuries — a move designed to avoid market swings while earning yield.
Why Build a Product Around Midnight Moves?
The strategy stems from statistical quirks uncovered by analytics provider Velo.xyz. Its research suggests that over the last year Bitcoin’s positive momentum accumulated disproportionately overnight, only to fade when U.S. traders returned.
Bloomberg’s Eric Balchunas noted that the same behaviour appeared in 2024, hinting that institutional flows, derivatives unwinds and ETF mechanics might be concentrating performance in those hours.
BITCOIN AFTER DARK: new filing for an ETF that will only hold bitcoin at night, buying it when the US market closes and selling it when it opens. pic.twitter.com/0RrQTuP21t
— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) December 9, 2025
Rather than dismissing it as coincidence, Nicholas Financial sees it as an exploitable market feature.
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A Second Filing Signals Bigger Ambitions
Alongside the AfterDark ETF (NGTH), the firm submitted paperwork for a second product — the Nicholas Bitcoin Tail ETF (BHGD). Although that fund’s mechanics remain under wraps, the dual filings suggest Nicholas wants to carve out a specialized niche in the growing Bitcoin investment universe.
If regulators sign off, the AfterDark ETF would be one of the first to treat time as a primary factor in portfolio construction. It also reinforces how dramatically the digital-asset industry has matured: investors now have products tailored not just to Bitcoin’s price, but to the hours when that price tends to behave best.
Whether the night-focused strategy delivers an edge is uncertain — but its existence shows how creative fund engineering has become as Bitcoin moves deeper into the traditional financial system.
Alexander Stefanov
Reporter at CoinsPress
Alex is an experienced finance journalist and a cryptocurrency and blockchain enthusiast. With over five years of experience covering the industry, he deeply understands the complex and constantly evolving world of digital assets. His insightful and thought-provoking articles provide readers with a clear picture of the latest developments and trends in the market. His passionate approach allows him to break down complex ideas into accessible and insightful content. Follow up on his content to be up to date with the most important trends and topics - stay ahead of the curve with CoinsPress.
