Investors seeking option-based income now have a new way to access it after the launch of the gif etf on a major US exchange.
REX Shares introduces an income-focused options ETF
REX Shares, a US asset manager, has introduced a new exchange-traded fund trading under ticker GIF. The vehicle packages nine leveraged single-stock ETF strategies into one portfolio designed to deliver weekly dividend distributions to shareholders.
The fund holds equal-weight positions in nine existing REX single-stock ETFs. Each component ETF targets roughly 1.25x leverage to its underlying equity while also writing covered call options to generate premium income that is subsequently paid out to investors.
A covered call strategy involves selling call options against shares already owned in the portfolio. In return, option buyers pay an upfront premium, which creates current income for the fund. However, this approach also caps upside if the underlying stock rallies significantly beyond the option strike price.
Portfolio composition and trading venue
The GIF fund began trading on Cboe Global Markets this week. Moreover, the equal-weight basket spans nine prominent equities: Nvidia, Tesla, Strategy, Coinbase, Robinhood, Palantir, CoreWeave, Eli Lilly, and Walmart.
Coinbase and Strategy provide the ETF’s direct exposure to cryptocurrency-related companies. That said, the remaining holdings extend into artificial intelligence, pharmaceuticals, consumer retail, and broader technology, creating a diversified sector mix despite the single-stock focus.
Strategy’s role as a major Bitcoin proxy
Strategy, formerly known as MicroStrategy, has become one of the most visible corporate holders of Bitcoin. The company currently controls 717,722 BTC, equal to about 3.4% of the cryptocurrency’s fixed maximum supply of 21 million coins.
Despite that substantial Bitcoin position, Strategy’s share price has come under pressure. According to Yahoo Finance data, the stock has dropped more than 60% over the last six months and roughly 50% during the past year. Moreover, a recent Goldman Sachs analysis shows it is the most heavily shorted large-cap US stock when measured by short interest as a share of market capitalization.
This elevated short positioning, combined with its large Bitcoin trove, has helped make Strategy a focal point for investors tracking the gif etf and other vehicles with exposure to its equity.
New Strategy-linked products in Europe
The GIF launch in the United States coincided with renewed activity around Strategy-related securities in Europe. On Wednesday, 21Shares introduced a new exchange-traded product (ETP) offering European investors access to STRC, Strategy’s variable-rate perpetual preferred equity.
The 21Shares Strategy Yield ETP began trading on Euronext Amsterdam under ticker STRC NA on Thursday. Strategy describes STRC as a digital credit instrument structured to pay an annual dividend of 11.25%, adding an income-oriented layer to its capital structure.
This preferred instrument is directly linked to Strategy’s Bitcoin reserves and forms part of the company’s broader strategy to develop fixed-income products backed by its BTC treasury. However, detailed risk metrics and long-term performance characteristics will depend on both Bitcoin price behavior and corporate policy decisions.
Also on Wednesday, Prevalon Energy and Anchorage Digital disclosed that they had allocated portions of their corporate balance sheets to STRC. Neither firm revealed exact investment amounts, underscoring the early-stage nature of this market segment.
How the GIF ETF generates and pays income
The GIF portfolio’s revenue stems from covered call option premiums collected by each of the nine underlying single-stock funds. Moreover, every constituent ETF is structured to pass through this income to shareholders via a weekly distribution schedule, making timing a key feature of the product.
The targeted 1.25x leverage means the fund can amplify both gains and losses relative to direct equity ownership. Investors accept reduced potential upside from option writing in exchange for more regular premium-based cash flows, which may appeal to income-focused traders comfortable with elevated volatility.
REX Shares has not yet released a formal yield forecast for GIF. That said, weekly payout levels will vary as they depend on market volatility, option pricing, and the performance of each underlying stock, rather than on a fixed coupon.
In summary, GIF offers a concentrated basket of leveraged, option-writing single-stock exposures with weekly income distributions, while parallel moves in Europe highlight growing demand for Strategy-linked yield products tied to sizable Bitcoin holdings.
Source: https://en.cryptonomist.ch/2026/02/27/gif-etf-launch-us/
