What Is BOIL? ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Natural Gas

BOIL is the ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Natural Gas ETF, a leveraged fund that seeks daily results, before fees and expenses, equal to 2x (200%) the daily performance of the Bloomberg Natural Gas Subindex, an index built on Henry Hub natural gas futures. It uses futures and swaps to construct that amplified exposure, backed by cash and Treasuries as collateral.

Issued by ProShares and structured as a commodity pool, BOIL delivers a K-1 at tax time and carries a net expense ratio near 0.95%. Natural gas is one of the most volatile commodities in the market, so BOIL's 2x daily leverage produces very large swings and makes it strictly a short-term trading tool.

Approximate weights as of mid-2026; refresh quarterly from ProShares's fund page. Each ticker links to its individual stock guide in Walnut.

BOIL holds no physical natural gas and no stocks. Its exposure comes from Henry Hub natural gas futures and swap agreements referencing the Bloomberg Natural Gas Subindex, at roughly 200% notional, with cash and short-term Treasuries used as collateral against those positions.

Natural gas futures are driven by weather, storage reports, and production shifts, and the curve frequently moves in and out of contango. Because BOIL must continually roll expiring gas futures, the shape of that curve directly affects its returns on top of the daily price move and the 2x leverage.

BOIL is the 2x long natural gas fund, while KOLD is its 2x inverse twin, rising when gas falls. Unleveraged options such as UNG offer roughly 1x exposure for a more moderate natural gas bet. The choice depends on direction and how much daily volatility you are willing to take.

BOIL magnifies a bullish gas view but decays quickly, KOLD does the same on the bearish side, and UNG is the steadier tracker. All are trading instruments rather than long-term holdings, and the leveraged pair, given natural gas volatility, carry some of the steepest decay risk of any commodity ETF.

BOIL resets its 2x leverage every day, so the 200% objective applies to a single day at a time. Over longer periods, returns compound, and because natural gas is exceptionally volatile, that compounding produces severe volatility decay. A market that swings hard up and down but ends flat can still leave BOIL dramatically lower.

Layered on top is futures roll risk. When the natural gas curve is in contango, rolling expiring contracts into pricier later ones creates a steady drag, and gas is frequently in contango. The combination of extreme volatility, daily-reset decay, and roll costs has driven BOIL to repeated reverse splits, and is why it is designed for short holding periods with daily monitoring.

BOIL fits active traders who want a leveraged, short-term way to bet on rising natural gas prices, often around weather events or storage surprises, and who accept that it amplifies losses just as fast. It is not a long-term holding, and its history of decay and reverse splits underscores how quickly value can erode over time.

With no income, a roughly 0.95% expense ratio, and K-1 tax paperwork, BOIL plays a narrow tactical role rather than a core one. Whether leveraged natural gas exposure suits you depends on your goals, risk tolerance, and time horizon. Walnut is not an investment adviser and this is not a recommendation.

BOIL trades on NYSE Arca under the ticker BOIL and is available through most US brokers, including Robinhood, Fidelity, Schwab, and Public, often in fractional shares. Because it is highly leveraged and volatile, many traders use limit orders and monitor positions closely rather than holding passively.

If you hold or plan to trade BOIL, you can connect your brokerage to Walnut to view the position in the context of your overall portfolio and thesis. Walnut mirrors your holdings read-only and never places trades on its own.

BOIL offers 2x the daily move of Henry Hub natural gas futures, one of the most volatile commodities. Daily resets, steep volatility decay, and futures roll costs make it a short-term trading instrument that has lost enormous value over long holds. Walnut is not an investment adviser and this is not a recommendation.

Whether BOIL is worth buying today depends more on your time horizon and what you already hold than on any single call. We walk through valuation, concentration, and what would have to be true for it to outperform from here in is BOIL a buy?

BOIL yields 0% as of mid-2026, paid by passing through the dividends of its underlying holdings. For the payout schedule, history, and how the distributions are taxed, see BOIL dividend: yield and schedule.