Asset manager Direxion has debuted its two newest crypto industry-tracking exchange-traded funds — complete with fun ticker names: “LMBO” and “REKT.”
According to a July 17 statement, LMBO is the ticker for the Direxion Daily Crypto Industry Bull 2X Shares, which seeks a 200% investment return tied to the Solactive Distributed Ledger and Decentralized Payment Tech Index.
It tracks United States-listed securities that operate in the digital asset space, from listed firms operating in the Bitcoin mining industry and blockchain infrastructure to listed firms involved in non-fungible tokens and decentralized finance.
The second ETF, tickered as ‘REKT,’ is the Direxion Daily Crypto Industry Bear 1X Shares, which seeks a 100% return based on the inverse of the performance of the Solactive index fund.
The LMBO ticker appears to be a loose reference to “Wen lambo” — a common phrase used by cryptocurrency enthusiasts hoping to one day buy a Lamborghini.
Meanwhile, ‘REKT,’ is a phonetic spelling of wrecked, commonly used in video game slang. In cryptocurrency, the term is often used to describe a trading decision that leads to substantial losses, or being rug-pulled or hacked.
“Crypto equities are among the fastest-growing companies in the world, now representing an almost $3 trillion asset class,” said Direxion Managing Director, Edward Egilinsky, in the statement.
“LMBO and REKT provide focused exposure for traders to express their short-term conviction on companies building the future of a crypto-driven, decentralized economy.”
In a post on X, Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas described Direxion’s tickers as “instant classics.”
“When it comes to fun tickers, leveraged issuers are on another level, which makes sense as they are catering to (young-ish) retail traders vs boomer wealth managers.”
Not so much trading volume on debut day
LMBO fell 1.12% on its New York Stock Exchange debut, while REKT increased 0.52%, according to Stockhouse data.
LMBO amassed about $36,000 in trading volume, while REKT managed about $5,000.
Related: Ethereum ETFs will have a bigger impact on ETH price: Bitwise
Others looked beyond the tickers and warned that LMBO and REKT investors would endure considerable “pain.”
“Just a reminder that in the world of financial services, the cuter the name, the greater the ultimate pain,” noted Peter Atwater, President of investment consulting firm Financial Insyghts.
Dixerion also recently launched a Daily AI & Big Data “Bull” and “Bear” 2X products in May — but with far less creative tickers (AIBU and AIBD).
The firm has amassed nearly $43 billion in assets under management since it was founded in 1997.
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