SEC Delays Leveraged SpaceX ETFs to Monday
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- SEC concerns cited by exchanges pushed leveraged SpaceX ETF launches from Friday's IPO day to Monday, with three sources saying regulators feared coupling the products would complicate the debut
- Defiance ETFs became the sole issuer to launch day-one, with its actively managed Defiance Daily 2x Space ETF soaring as much as 56% intraday before Cboe halted trading after nearly a million shares changed hands
- Tradr ETFs head of product Matt Markiewicz said the firm 'had really wanted to be out on Friday' and estimated the new 2x long and 2x short products could collectively hold more than $10 billion in assets
- Direxion, ProShares, GraniteShares, and Defiance all have 2x leveraged long ETFs in the pipeline, with no precedent for leveraged funds launching on the same day as an underlying stock in the U.S.
- Defiance acquired a block of SpaceX shares at the IPO price, meaning its relaunched fund held exposure only to SpaceX at the Friday re-launch, CIO Sylvia Jablonski told Reuters
Why it matters: The SEC's intervention hands Defiance ETFs an exclusive day-one window — its fund surged 56% intraday and traded nearly a million shares while Direxion, ProShares, and Tradr sit on the sidelines — but the delay also signals regulators are willing to throttle the $10B-plus leveraged product race to protect orderly price discovery for the SpaceX IPO itself.
