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When SpaceX (NASDAQ: SPCX) priced its IPO at $135 per share and began trading on Nasdaq on June 12, it did not just make history as the largest IPO ever recorded, with a valuation of nearly $1.77 trillion. It set off one of the fastest waves of leveraged ETF launches the market has ever seen. Within days of the listing, no fewer than eight leveraged and inverse ETFs tied to SpaceX hit the market, as issuers raced to give traders amplified ways to play one of the most anticipated and volatile new stocks in years.

For traders with a larger risk appetite, these products offer a way to express a strong directional view on SpaceX, both bullish and bearish. Two of the most notable are the Defiance Daily Target 2X Long SpaceX ETF (NYSEAMERICAN: SPCU) on the long side, and the Leverage Shares 2X Short SPCX Daily ETF (NYSEAMERICAN: SSPC) on the short side.

SPCU: The 2X Bullish Bet

The Defiance Daily Target 2X Long SpaceX ETF launched on June 15 and seeks to deliver 200% of the daily performance of SpaceX stock, before fees and expenses. If SpaceX rises 1% in a day, SPCU targets a 2% gain. If SpaceX falls 1%, SPCU targets a 2% decline. It is built for active traders who want amplified, margin-free exposure to continued upside in SpaceX through a single, exchange-listed trade.

The bull case that SPCU is designed to amplify is compelling. SpaceX commands an estimated 90%-plus share of global mass-to-orbit through its dominant reusable-rocket business. It operates the rapidly expanding Starlink satellite broadband network and, following its acquisition of xAI in February 2026, develops frontier AI models, including Grok, while operating the X platform. For traders who believe that the vertically integrated story will continue to drive the stock higher in the near term, SPCU offers a way to double down on that conviction. But it's important to remember that it comes with double the downside risk.

SSPC: The 2X Bearish Bet

On the other side sits the Leverage Shares 2X Short SPCX Daily ETF, which seeks to deliver -200 % of SpaceX's daily performance. When SpaceX falls 3% in a day, SSPC targets a 6% gain. When SpaceX rises 3%, SSPC targets a 6% loss. It gives traders a way to express a bearish view or tactically hedge a long position without the complexity of put options, the operational burden of borrowing shares to short, or the margin requirements of futures.

If SpaceX continues its post-IPO momentum, losses on SSPC would accumulate at double the rate of the underlying move. In terms of liquidity, SSPC has been one of the most successful levered SPCX ETF listings so far, trading an average of nearly 80 million shares per day since listing. Notably, SSPC carries an expense ratio of 0.75%, meaningfully lower than SPCU's 1.31% and among the lowest of the available leveraged SpaceX products.

The Critical Risk Every Trader Must Understand

The single most important thing to understand about both of these funds is the word "daily." SPCU and SSPC reset their leverage at the start of each trading session. That makes them effective tools for expressing a one-day directional view, but it also means they are not entirely designed to be held for longer periods. Over multiple days, a phenomenon called volatility decay sets in, a compounding effect that can erode returns even if SpaceX moves in the direction you predicted over that stretch. It is entirely possible to be right about SpaceX's direction over a week or a month and still lose money in one of these funds.

The leverage cuts both ways and cuts hard. An investor could lose the full value of their position in a single day if SpaceX moves more than 50% against them in a single session, a scenario that is highly unlikely but worth noting. In that regard, these are not buy-and-hold investments, and they are explicitly designed for knowledgeable, active traders who monitor their positions closely.

Trading Vehicles That Aren’t for Everybody

The SpaceX IPO has given traders an unprecedented menu of ways to play the most talked-about stock on the market, and SPCU and SSPC sit at the higher-risk, higher-reward end of that menu. For sophisticated traders with a clear short-term directional view and the discipline to manage the position actively, they offer a powerful, margin-free tool. For everyone else, the volatility decay, the daily reset mechanics, and the sheer magnitude of potential losses make these products worth understanding thoroughly before participating.

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