The chaos surrounding two hyper-leveraged ETFs, MSTU and MSTX, tied to MicroStrategy's stock has caused turmoil on Wall Street. The funds, designed to amplify MicroStrategy's stock movements, have pushed prime brokers and traders to their limits. The banks backing the funds have reached their risk limits, causing them to refuse exposure to meet demand. As a result, fund managers like Matt Tuttle and Sylvia Jablonski have had to rely on call options to meet investor demand. The extreme volatility of MicroStrategy's stock, combined with its association with Bitcoin, has further complicated matters. The ETFs have experienced significant growth since their debuts, controlling around $4 billion in assets. However, the volatility has led to higher margin requirements and increased costs for brokers. Short-selling firm Citron Research has also expressed skepticism about MicroStrategy's stock, causing it to plummet 22% in a day. Leveraged ETFs are attractive to retail investors seeking fast money, but they come with high risks and complexity. Managing these ETFs requires constant risk assessment and creative solutions to meet leverage promises to investors.



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