SK Hynix Leveraged ETFs Race to Launch Before Nasdaq Listing

Published by James Harris on June 27, 2026June 27, 2026

Seven U.S. asset managers have filed with the SEC to launch leveraged ETFs tied to SK Hynix, the South Korean chipmaker whose stock has risen more than 300% since 2023 on the back of surging demand for high-bandwidth memory chips used in AI data centers. GraniteShares is furthest along, with a 2x long (SKUU) and 2x short (SKDD) fund targeting an effective date of July 2, 2026.

The competitive dynamic here is less about product differentiation than about timing. The six other filers, including ProShares, Direxion, and Tuttle Capital, are largely waiting for SK Hynix’s planned Nasdaq ADR before launching, while GraniteShares is pushing for first-mover advantage before the underlying share even trades in the U.S. That pattern has precedent: early issuers of single-stock leveraged ETFs tied to Nvidia and Tesla captured disproportionate trading volume and AUM relative to later entrants. The global infrastructure is already substantial. CSOP’s 2x leveraged SK Hynix ETF in Hong Kong has grown to more than $16.8 billion in AUM with returns close to 900% year-to-date, and Leverage Shares added a 3x product on the London Stock Exchange on June 12. The mechanics driving that demand are straightforward: memory suppliers including SK Hynix have redirected production capacity toward HBM at a pace that has structurally repriced the company’s earnings outlook.

SK Hynix closed June 22 with a market cap of roughly $1.35 trillion, briefly overtaking Samsung Electronics to become South Korea’s most valuable listed company.

The valuation argument for U.S. investors is specific. SK Hynix currently trades at roughly seven to eight times forward earnings versus around eleven times for Micron, and analyst Kim Sun-woo at Meritz Securities has suggested that gap could compress once U.S. investors gain direct ADR access. If it does, leveraged ETF issuers benefit from elevated trading volume in both directions regardless of price direction. That is the structural appeal of single-stock leveraged products: volatility pays the house. South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service is watching this unfold with some unease, with governor Lee Chan-jin raising concerns at a June 22 press conference about the rushed approval of leveraged ETFs linked to Samsung and SK Hynix.

All seven U.S. providers are competing on brand, launch timing, and distribution rather than leverage ratios, which suggests the window for differentiation is narrow. GraniteShares has set July 2, 2026 as its effective date, and whether the ADR lists before or after that date will likely determine which issuer captures the early volume that, historically, tends to stick.