Cboe BZX Exchange halted trading in the Defiance Daily 2X Space ETF (SPCL) at 10:45 a.m. EDT on Friday, after volatility in SpaceX Class A common stock (SPCX) during its first session on Nasdaq, Defiance said in a release.
SpaceX priced its IPO at $135 per share and began trading on Friday under the ticker SPCX.
Cboe’s halt list logged the reason as ‘Regulatory concern.’ The exchange said it anticipated resuming trading in SPCL no earlier than Monday, June 15.
During the halt, SPCL shares cannot be bought or sold on the secondary market, though Defiance said the underlying portfolio assets remain secure.
Why SPCL was exposed
Defiance had designated the SpaceX IPO a ‘Material Space Event’ under the fund’s prospectus, triggering a reconstitution of SPCL’s target portfolio toward sole or predominant 200% leveraged exposure to SpaceX stock.
The prospectus supplement, filed the same day, warned that concentration in a newly public name could create challenges around liquidity, derivative market capacity, counterparty willingness, and price discovery.
