Asset manager Leverage Shares has launched two exchange-traded funds tied to SpaceX stock, hitting the Cboe exchange just days after the company’s record-breaking initial public offering. The funds, tickers SPCH and SSPC, offer 2x leveraged long and 2x leveraged short exposure to SpaceX shares.
What the ETFs do
SPCH seeks to deliver twice the daily return of SpaceX stock, while SSPC aims for twice the inverse daily return. That means traders using the long fund could see magnified gains — or losses — on a day when SpaceX shares rise, while the short fund moves in the opposite direction. Leverage Shares structured both as exchange-traded products that reset daily. Active retail traders are the primary target audience, the company said.
Timing close to SpaceX’s IPO
SpaceX went public earlier this month in what market observers called the largest IPO in aerospace history. The company’s stock began trading on the Nasdaq. Leverage Shares filed paperwork for the ETFs weeks before the offering and received regulatory clearance to list them on the Cboe. The launch window — days after the IPO — suggests the firm wanted to capture immediate interest from momentum traders and speculators.
Why Cboe and not Nasdaq
By listing on Cboe Global Markets’ exchange rather than the Nasdaq, where SpaceX shares trade, the ETFs avoid some of the listing requirements that apply to primary listings. Cboe has become a popular venue for leveraged and inverse funds, partly because of its faster approval process for complex products. For traders, the main difference is which broker they use; most retail platforms list Cboe-traded funds alongside Nasdaq-listed stocks.
Risks for retail traders
Leveraged and inverse ETFs carry risks beyond ordinary stock funds. The 2x daily reset means returns can diverge significantly from twice the underlying stock’s performance over longer periods — a phenomenon called volatility decay. A trader holding SPCH for a month could see results that don’t match 2x SpaceX’s total return. The short fund SSPC poses the opposite hazard: if SpaceX’s stock rises steadily, the short fund loses value in amplified fashion.
Regulators have warned retail investors about these products, but demand hasn’t slowed. Leverage Shares plans to publish daily tracking data on its website so traders can see how closely the funds track their targets.
What comes next
The ETFs began trading Monday morning. Leverage Shares hasn’t announced plans for additional SpaceX-linked products, but a spokesperson told GFdaily the firm is “monitoring investor interest closely.” For now, the funds give retail traders a way to bet big on the stock’s day-to-day moves — or bet against it — without buying shares directly.
