Exchange-traded flows in the U.S exceeded $1 trillion by 17 June 2026, boosted by the launch of new ETFs on SpaceX following the record initial public offering (IPO) of Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence and space company.

SpaceX’s IPO raised a total of $85.7bn, overtaking the $18.4bn raised by social network Facebook in 2012, the previous largest U.S. tech company IPO. The total volume on the first day of trading on Friday 12 June 2026 was 522.1 million shares for $85.3bn, according to data provider BMLL, with a closing price of $160.95, 19.2% above the offer price.

Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg, highlighted that 11 leveraged SpaceX ETFs from seven issuers were launched on Monday 15 June 2026, the trading day following the IPO listing. Balchunas said on X: “One of these is gonna be set for life rich, a few will eat and a few will starve and die. It’s basically ETF Survivor.”

A standard ETF aims to accurately track the price movement of an index or basket. In contrast, leveraged single stock ETFs aim to amplify the daily price movement of the underlying stock. For example, a single-stock ETF with 2x leverage will double the daily increase or decrease in the share price.

By the end of the first day, the 11 leveraged SpaceX ETFs had traded more than $1bn in aggregate.

HUGE first day in the 2x SpaceX Derby w/ a combined volume of over $1b. Notable that LeverageShares (who isn't nearly as big in US) is out to such a big lead, $281m makes it the biggest first day since $IBIT. Even $ETHA and $DRAM didn't do that much. And it had to share the… pic.twitter.com/gAY0aEXuPF

— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) June 16, 2026

Leverage Shares 2X Long SpaceX Daily ETF (SPCH) traded $281m, which was the biggest first day since BlackRock launched its Bitcoin ETF in January 2024, despite having to share demand with the other 10 ETFs.

“Also the fact that the least among them still got $26m is bonkers,” added Balchunas. “For context if you launch an ETF and it trades $1m on first day you are ecstatic.”

On its next day of trading SPCH traded $1.3bn, which Balchunas said is record volume for a second day. In contrast,  BlackRock’s Bitcoin traded $500m on its second day.

Leverage Shares by Themes launched SPCH and the Leverage Shares 2X Short SpaceX Daily ETF (SSPC), to provide market participants with a complete toolkit to navigate the volatility, momentum, and opportunity that often accompany landmark public listings. Both funds are actively managed and use swaps, options, and other derivatives to provide efficient leveraged exposure.

In May this year, Leverage Shares by Themes became the first ETF issuer to launch a leveraged ETF tied to a newly public company immediately following the IPO with Cerebras Systems, the artificial intelligence chip manufacturer, according to the firm.

Paul Marino, chief revenue officer of Themes ETFs, told Markets Media: “We always want to be first to market and have an advantage. We did very well with Cerebras and had high volumes.”

The issuer wanted to launch the SpaceX ETFs on the same day as the shares started trading to provide access to retail investors as quickly as possible. However, there was pushback from exchanges according to Marino.

“It is the largest IPO in the world and most important deal that has ever happened,” he added. “There is a lot of positivity around SpaceX and people want to be involved.”

Marino argued that a differentiator for Themes ETFs’ SpaceX funds is that the issuer has the lowest fees at 0.75%. He said the issuer prices every ETF well below the industry average and its competitors.

Themes ETFs also aims to launch leveraged ETFs on the other large technology IPOs in the pipeline as soon as possible after the shares start trading, as the firm expects similar demand.

“We are very excited,” Marino added. “Let the games begin.”

SpaceX joins existing ETFs

Defiance ETFs, which specializes in thematic, income, and leveraged ETFs, also launched long and short 2x leveraged SpaceX ETFs. Brendan Cavanaugh, chief strategy officer at Defiance ETFs, told Markets Media this was the first single stock ETF it had been able to offer so close to an IPO.

Defiance also had an existing space-themed leveraged ETF, which it updated on the IPO date to include exposure to SpaceX. Cavanaugh said: “We were the first issuer to be able to provide two times SpaceX exposure on IPO day.”

The number of ETFs that held SpaceX went from 4 to 40 to now 120 in a couple days (few billion total). These are all active ETFs choosing to buy, not indexes (they coming later). Here's a look at the list sorted by new buy, $JEPQ (the 2nd largest active ETF in world) at the top.… pic.twitter.com/KcqbW12B4J

— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) June 16, 2026

In addition, WisdomTree said in a statement that SpaceX will be added to the WisdomTree Space Economy UCITS ETF from 29 June 2026, strengthening the strategy’s exposure to the ongoing commercialisation of space. SpaceX will enter the ETF with an initial 5.5% weighting with subsequent increases anticipated over the coming months as market liquidity develops following the IPO.

Pierre Debru, head of research, Europe at WisdomTree, said in a statement: “SpaceX’s inclusion shortly after its market debut reflects the flexibility of WisdomTree’s proprietary indexing approach, allowing the strategy to respond to significant changes in the investable universe while remaining transparent, rules-based and aligned with the fund’s objective.”

Cavanaugh argued that an advantage for Defiance is that the firm is known for providing access to next-generation investing themes and targeted exposure to transformative parts of the new economy, and for catering to self-directed retail investors by democratising access to leverage for short-term trading strategies.

“We are differentiated from some of the larger ETF issuers coming to market with SpaceX because this is what we specialize in and we can be more nimble,” he added. “We cater to self-directed investors,  interact with them, and provide education and tools which differentiates our offer in this crowded space.”

He sees a “lot of opportunity” to launch single stock ETFs on the other large technology IPOs in the pipeline such as artificial intelligence firms OpenAI and Anthropic. There will be investor demand companies have been staying private for longer periods so they are familiar to investors, who also already use their products.

The SpaceX ETF provides a blueprint for the launching ETFs for potential new IPOs, said Cavanaugh. Defiance worked with its market makers and trading counterparties to make sure there would not be any capacity issues getting SpaceX exposure and to anticipate any potential issues.

“It is not luck,” he said. “It becomes a dance that you are continuously orchestrating to make sure that all the pieces fall into place.”

ETF flows

Balchunas highlighted that inflows into the U.S. ETF market had exceeded $1 trillion by 17 June this year, so he expects last year’s record of $1.5 trillion in inflows to be beaten.

FLOWMAGEDDON: ETF flows have toched $1 trillion YTD, it's still June. To be sure, a touch of this is S&P 500 rebal but it is looking pretty good that last year's $1.5T record will be broken. Amazing $DRAM is in top 10 overall. Even tho SpaceX has stolen all the attn DRAM is still… pic.twitter.com/6jQaHedL0w

— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) June 17, 2026

Assets invested in the U.S. ETF Industry reached a record $15.7 trillion at the end of May this year, according to ETFGI, the research and consultancy firm. Net inflows until the end of May were a record $837bn, exceeding $443.3bn last year. Active ETFs continued to attract strong demand, with year-to-date inflows of $329bn, much higher than the $177bn recorded in the first five months of 2025.

Single stock ETFs are already a big theme in the U.S. ETF market according to Marino, and Themes ETFs has launched more than 80 funds in this very competitive segment. In addition, there is “massive interest” in leverage as ETFs are more efficient and cheaper for retail traders than using options, which require margin payments.

Cavanaugh expects continued growth in the ETF market for both new single name products and for existing ETFs that add new IPO exposures. He added: “The sheer buzz of a new hot IPO entering a thematic product creates a lot of opportunity.”