Optiver's Strategic ETF Expansion
Optiver Holding B.V. Boosts Diverse ETF Holdings in Q1, Focusing on Growth and Leveraged Tech
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Key Points
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IVW context and valuation: Optiver’s $840,000 stake in the iShares S&P 500 Growth ETF (IVW) comes as IVW traded near key levels, with an opening price of $135.25 and moving averages around the 50-day ($136.10) and 200-day ($127.71). The fund has a large market cap (~$73.85B) and a P/E of about 33.33, providing a backdrop for Optiver’s growth-focused exposure.
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NVD leverage context and fund metrics: Optiver increased its stake in GraniteShares 2x Short NVDA Daily ETF (NVD) to 175,687 shares (a 1,209.1% surge), valued at about $1.326 million. The ETF has a relatively small market cap (~$65.42 million) with a negative P/E (~-41.58) and a negative beta (~-3.06), underscoring its highly leveraged inverse exposure to NVDA.
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MSTU’s leveraged tech tilt and launch context: Optiver boosted its position in T-Rex 2X Long MSTR Daily Target ETF (MSTU) to 357,742 shares, about $1.52 million, a 1,871.1% quarter-over-quarter increase. MSTU is designed to provide 2x leveraged exposure to MicroStrategy stock and was launched in September 2024.
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CONI’s inverse/leveraged strategy expansion and price context: Optiver increased its stake in GraniteShares 2x Short COIN Daily ETF (CONI) to 17,604 shares, worth about $1.083 million, a 506.6% rise. CONI opened at about $54.77 and sits in a wide 1-year range (~$28.41 to $141.65), with a 50-day MA near $51.58 and a 200-day MA around $59.36, illustrating ongoing theme-based exposure.
Optiver Holding B.V., the Amsterdam-based market-making giant, sharply expanded its leveraged and thematic ETF holdings in Q1 2026, according to its Form 13F filed with the SEC on June 2. The firm's most dramatic moves included a 1,871.1% surge in its T-Rex 2X Long MSTR Daily Target ETF (MSTU) stake to 357,742 shares, worth roughly $1.52 million, and a 1,209.1% jump in its GraniteShares 2x Short NVDA Daily ETF (NVD) position to 175,687 shares, valued at about $1.33 million. Watchlist News and Ticker Report have been tracking Optiver's broader Q1 portfolio shifts across dozens of instruments.
The moves span both bullish and bearish bets — long MicroStrategy, short NVIDIA, short Coinbase, long Meta — signaling a structured liquidity-provision play rather than simple directional trading. Optiver's total 13F portfolio stood at $289.48 billion as of March 31, 2026, making these individual ETF stakes small but strategically telling.
Optiver's Biggest Moves: MSTU and NVD Surge Over 1,000%
Optiver's largest percentage jump was in MSTU, the T-Rex 2X Long MSTR Daily Target ETF. The firm grew its stake by 1,871.1% in a single quarter, landing at 357,742 shares worth $1.52 million. MSTU launched in September 2024 and delivers twice the daily return of MicroStrategy stock. Its AUM has since crossed $1.16 billion.
The firm also piled into NVD, GraniteShares' 2x Short NVDA Daily ETF, boosting its holdings by 1,209.1% to 175,687 shares. NVD carries a negative beta of roughly -3.06 and a market cap of only about $65.42 million. That means it moves sharply against NVIDIA — and it moves fast. Optiver's $1.33 million position sits inside a fund that is highly sensitive to any NVIDIA price swing.
GraniteShares Bets on META and Inverse COIN Exposure
Optiver also raised its stake in GraniteShares 2x Long META Daily ETF (FBL) by 126.75% to 55,671 shares, worth about $1.28 million. At the same time, it expanded its position in GraniteShares 2x Short COIN Daily ETF (CONI) by 506.6% to 17,604 shares, valued at roughly $1.08 million. Holding both a long-Meta and short-Coinbase product shows Optiver is not simply picking a direction on tech.
CONI trades in a wide one-year range of $28.41 to $141.65. Its 50-day moving average sits near $51.58 and its 200-day around $59.36. GraniteShares CEO Will Rhind crossed $11 billion in AUM in late 2025, driven largely by retail demand for single-stock leveraged products like FBL and CONI. Rhind has argued publicly that regulatory caps on these instruments are "unnecessarily restrictive."
IVW Stake Adds Steady Growth Exposure Alongside Volatile Bets
Not every Optiver move in Q1 was high-octane. The firm also acquired 7,426 shares of the iShares S&P 500 Growth ETF (IVW), worth around $840,000. IVW is a large, stable fund with roughly $73.85 billion in assets and a P/E of about 33.33. Its opening price near $135.25 sits between the 50-day moving average of $136.10 and the 200-day of $127.71.
The IVW purchase stands apart from Optiver's leveraged plays. It offers broad exposure to S&P 500 growth stocks with no daily-reset decay. Analysts see it as a mild counterweight — a conventional growth anchor alongside the firm's more aggressive single-stock derivative products.
Why Market Makers Love Leveraged ETFs: Spreads, Not Direction
Optiver's CEO Jan Boomaars has said the firm's goal is to "continue strengthening our position as a global liquidity provider, without compromising risk discipline." That framing matters here. These ETF positions are likely not pure directional bets. Leveraged single-stock ETFs reset daily, forcing massive rebalancing. Nomura estimates a 1% move in underlying assets can trigger $9 billion in daily rebalancing globally.
That rebalancing creates wide bid-ask spreads and high volume — exactly what market makers like Optiver exploit. By acting as an authorized participant in products like MSTU, NVD, and CONI, Optiver can earn fractions of a cent on millions of trades. Regulators are watching. South Korea already cracked down on similar products in mid-2026 due to extreme retail speculation. The US SEC has not yet acted, but the pressure is building.
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