Unicorn Fund VCX Soars 54% as OpenAI, Anthropic Investments Thrive

Mo. Basuony

Published: March 21, 2026 12:27 PM ET

Unicorn Fund VCX Soars 54% as OpenAI, Anthropic Investments Thrive

U.S. equity markets closed lower as selling pressure widened across technology and cyclical sectors. The Dow fell 0.97%, the Nasdaq dropped 2.01%, and the S&P 500 slipped 1.51%.

Market movers and sector weakness

Super Micro Computer shares plunged more than 33% amid legal developments tied to company personnel. Memory and storage stocks also retreated on renewed cyclical concerns.

Micron lost over 4%. SanDisk slid more than 8%, while some Western Digital issues fell over 7%. A major hard drive maker fell about 5%.

Optical and chip-related declines

Optical communication names led losses. Applied Optoelectronics fell over 14%. Coherent declined more than 9% and Lumentum dropped over 8%.

Regulatory and corporate headlines

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York filed public charges against three individuals tied to Super Micro Computer. The company itself was not named as a defendant.

Those charged include Wally Liaw, Steven Chang, and contractor Willy Sun. Super Micro placed two employees on leave and cut ties with the contractor immediately.

ETF winners and losers

Inverse and volatility ETFs outperformed amid the pullback. Leveraged ETFs tied to Super Micro showed extreme volatility in both directions.

2x Short SMCI ETF – Defiance (SMCZ) surged about 65.05%. Volume reached roughly $1.12 billion.
FUNDRISE INNOVATION FUND LLC (VCX) jumped about 54.54% on volume near $65.33 million.
2x Leveraged PL ETF – Defiance (PLU) climbed about 50.12% with $29.27 million in volume.
Breakwave Tanker Shipping ETF (BWET) rose roughly 17.83%, volume $10.59 million.
2x Leverage Short BE ETF – Tradr (BEZ) gained about 19.01% on $2.83 million traded.

2x Long SMCI ETF – Graniteshares (SMCL) plunged about 66.74%, volume $106 million.
2x Long SMCI ETF – Defiance (SMCX) fell about 66.57%, volume $226 million.
SMCI Options Income Strategy ETF – YieldMax (SMCY) dropped roughly 32.16%, volume $29.51 million.
Defiance Daily Target 2X Long RCAT ETF (RCAX) fell about 24.72%, volume $7.44 million.
2X Long VST ETF – Defiance (VSTL) dropped about 24.62%, volume $1.73 million.

Major index and volatility ETFs

UVXY jumped about 10.45% on $450 million volume.
VIXY rose roughly 7.11%, volume $259 million.
TZA increased about 6.64% with $1.023 billion traded.
VXX was up around 6.51%, volume $634 million.
SQQQ climbed roughly 5.72%, on heavy volume of $4.344 billion.

Industry and bond ETF performance

Sector ETFs for real estate and semiconductors posted heavy losses. Long-duration bond ETFs also slipped amid rising rate expectations.

DRN fell roughly 9.42%, volume $9.61 million.
SOXL dropped about 6.76%, volume $5.027 billion.
URE declined roughly 6.40% on light volume.
NLR lost about 4.34%, volume $69.27 million.
XLU fell around 4.05%, volume $2.105 billion.

TMF declined roughly 5.68%, volume $443 million.
UBT fell about 3.47%, volume $18.79 million.
PCY dropped around 2.08%, volume $6.94 million.
VCLT slid nearly 1.96%, volume $557 million.
TLT eased about 1.90%, volume $6.6 billion.

Commodities and precious metals

Commodity-focused ETFs showed gains, especially short silver and gold miners positions. Energy-related funds also rose on geopolitical headlines.

ZSL jumped about 13.64%, volume $380 million.
JDST rose roughly 7.46%, volume $25.64 million.
DUST increased about 6.89%, volume $72.75 million.
GLL climbed roughly 6.35%, volume $142 million.
United States Gasoline Fund (UGA) rose about 5.72%, volume $8.48 million.

Spot gold fell below $4,500 per ounce amid a stronger dollar and geopolitical concerns. Traders cited fears of higher oil, inflation, and interest rates.

Independent trader Tai Wong said metals were volatile ahead of the weekend. He predicted consolidation, but warned the path would be uneven.