Nicholas Financial Corporation has proposed a unique bitcoin ETF called the "AfterDark" ETF, which aims to capitalize on bitcoin's tendency to perform better outside of regular U.S. trading hours. The fund plans to purchase bitcoin after U.S. markets close at 4 p.m. ET and sell it by 9:30 a.m. ET the following day, shifting into short-term U.S. Treasuries during the day to preserve capital and generate yield. This strategy is based on data indicating that bitcoin tends to be more profitable when traditional U.S. markets are closed. Support for this strategy comes from data provided by Velo.xyz, showing a clear trend: bitcoin is more likely to gain value when the U.S. stock markets are not active. Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas noted that this pattern held true for 2024 as well, suggesting that other investment products like spot ETFs could influence bitcoin's performance. Along with the AfterDark ETF, Nicholas Financial has also filed for a second product, the Nicholas Bitcoin Tail ETF, indicating an intention to diversify its offerings in the bitcoin investment space. In a related market context, bitcoin recently recovered to over $70,000 after experiencing a significant drop, driven by improved U.S. inflation data. Despite this recovery, market sentiment remains cautious, as highlighted by the Crypto Fear & Greed Index, which is still in the "extreme fear" zone. Last week, $8.7 billion in bitcoin losses were realized, possibly indicating a shift in market dynamics as weaker hands exit and stronger investors accumulate assets.