2025 has so far been a big year for leveraged ETFs. I wrote a research note on leveraged ETFs earlier this year (read more here) where I discussed some trends in the leveraged ETF market. And since then, the leveraged ETF market has continued to grow. As of September 5, 2025, around 25% of funds launched this year (~170 out of ~660, according to Bloomberg data) were leveraged ETFs. The majority of these are single-stock ETFs. That aligns with how many investors actually trade today outside of the core of their portfolio. They want targeted, short-term tools around specific names and catalysts.
From indexes to stocks: Why the shift?
For years, product innovation in leveraged ETFs was centered on indexes. But the index landscape has become more crowded. And most major strategies already have multiple competing funds. At the same time, trader attention has shifted to single-name stories where volatility, media headlines, and earnings catalysts create natural demand for short-term bull/bear views. Issuers can also launch paired bull/bear suites quickly and market them clearly. And the underlying ticker also does a lot of the heavy lifting for the investment case. Direxion, for example, has been launching bull/bear pairs around technology and some adjacent spaces where there is a lot of excitement. These often come in 2x and -1x, like the Direxion Daily LLY Bull 2X (ELIL ) and Direxion Daily LLY Bear 2X (ELIS ).
Many of these single-stock names are in the technology space. These names are highly liquid, trade with deep derivatives markets, and already capture investor attention through media coverage and thematic narratives like AI. For traders, that combination of liquidity, volatility, and story creates a natural environment for leveraged or inverse strategies. It also makes sense in an era of bullish investing. Although leveraged bull/bear pairs are popular, the majority of launches in 2025 were 2x leveraged ETFs, with only a handful of inverse ETFs.
Tech and 'tech adjacent' lead the pack
In 2025, tech dominated. Forty percent of leveraged single-stock ETFs launched this year were in the tech sector. Strategy (MSTR), formerly known as MicroStrategy, took the top spot this year with six new ETFs based on the ticker. (Interestingly, Strategy is a bitcoin proxy.) Several other names had five new ETFs associated with the ticker, including Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Palantir (PLTR). Coinbase (COIN) and Robinhood (HOOD) also have five new ETFs each. While these names are considered financial stocks (according to GICS sector classification), they are tech adjacent, as both are digital platforms used to trade crypto or securities.
Even though the bulk of this note addresses this single-stock trend, indexed tech ideas are still going strong. Several ETFs launched this year that focus on the QQQ — notably three launched by ProShares. The ProShares Ultra Top QQQ (QQUP ) and its counterpart the ProShares Ultrashort Top QQQ (QQDN ) launched in June 2025. QQUP targets 2x daily returns of the Nasdaq-100 Mega Index (approximately 45% of the Nasdaq-100, which captures shifts in mega-cap stocks instead of focusing solely on groups like the Magnificent Seven). QQDN targets -2x daily returns of the same index. The ProShares Ultra QQQ Top 30 (QQXL ) was also launched in August. Similar to QQUP, QQXL captures a concentrated (but not overly so) version of the Nasdaq-100, which includes only the top 30 companies).
The 2x Daily Software Platform ETF (SOFL ) was launched in July 2025. The thesis partially revolves around artificial intelligence and innovation tailwinds, which are creating new opportunities for software companies as investor focus shifts toward software applications. The other part of the investment case goes back to fundamentals. Software companies are typically asset-light. Therefore, they have higher revenue growth at lower marginal costs. In other words, more money can be spent on innovation rather than maintaining assets like infrastructure or equipment.
Leveraged ETFs follow market trends
Notably, leveraged ETFs keep up with newer trends. One noticeable trend is IPOs. The Circle Internet Group (CRCL) IPO was a hot IPO earlier this year, and almost immediately, leveraged ETFs followed. Three leveraged ETFs: the Leverage Shares 2X Long CRCL Daily ETF (CRCG ), T-REX 2X Long CRCL Daily Target ETF (CCUP ), and ProShares Ultra CRCL (CRCA ) were filed soon after. A similar story happened with the Bullish Inc (BLSH) IPO. The same issuers above (Leverage Shares, REX shares, and ProShares), along with Defiance, filed for 2X leveraged funds. While these have been filed, they have not yet been launched. But the trend is clear: leveraged single-stock ETFs for popular IPO stocks are filed almost immediately after the IPO date.
Leveraged crypto ETFs let investors trade a one-day, leveraged version of a token’s moves in a traditional brokerage account. Instead of holding the coins, these funds use futures and swaps to target multipliers like 2x of the daily return of tokens like Solana and XRP. Examples include Volatility Shares 2x Solana ETF (SOLT), ProShares Ultra Solana (SLON), Teucrium 2x Long Daily XRP ETF (XXRP ), Volatility Shares 2x XRP ETF (XRPT ), and ProShares Ultra XRP (UXRP ). Each explicitly seeks 2x daily performance and does not invest directly in Solana or XRP.
It’s worth noting that these trends ebb and flow and some funds shutter after demand dies out. Direxion, which has been very active with launches, has closed a few ETFs with insufficient investment assets recently — 2x bull ETFs on travel/vacation and cloud computing.
Bottom Line
Leveraged ETF innovation has shifted from broad indexes to single names. This is because that’s where liquidity, volatility, and intriguing stories overlap. Issuers can differentiate faster; traders (whether professional or novice) get tools that match how they already express daily views. These are trading instruments, not core holdings. So the roster of available products may shift over time.
VettaFi LLC (“VettaFi”) is the index provider for SOFL, for which it receives an index licensing fee. However, SOFL is not issued, sponsored, endorsed, or sold by VettaFi, and VettaFi has no obligation or liability in connection with the issuance, administration, marketing, or trading of SOFL.
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