Direxion Daily South Korea Bull 3X Shares 

KORU Price

What is Direxion Daily South Korea Bull 3X Shares (KORU) ETF?

KORU is a 3X leveraged ETF issued by Direxion Investments and listed on NYSE Arca since April 10, 2013. KORU seeks 300% of the daily return, before fees and expenses, of the MSCI Korea 25/50 Index — a benchmark of large- and mid-cap South Korean equities covering roughly 85% of free float. The fund is built for short-term tactical trading, not buy-and-hold exposure: the daily reset causes compounded returns to diverge from 3x the index over longer periods.

How does a 3X leveraged ETF work?

A 3X leveraged ETF amplifies the daily return of the underlying index by a factor of three. KORU invests at least 80% of net assets in swap agreements, securities of the index, and related instruments to deliver 3x MSCI Korea 25/50 daily performance. The leverage resets each trading session, so multi-day returns compound — KORU can lose money even when the index is flat over a week. The structure targets aggressive short-term tactical exposure.

What does KORU's daily reset mean for investors?

The daily reset forces KORU to rebalance its leverage exposure every trading session. Over periods longer than one day, compounding causes KORU's return to diverge materially from 3x the index return — a phenomenon called volatility decay. In choppy or sideways markets, volatility decay erodes value even when the underlying index is unchanged over the period. This daily-reset risk makes KORU unsuitable for long-term hold strategies.

Which MSCI Korea index does KORU track?

KORU tracks the MSCI Korea 25/50 Index (ticker M1KR2550) — a benchmark of large- and mid-cap South Korean equities covering approximately 85% of free float. The index measures the performance of Korean public companies meeting MSCI's size, liquidity, and foreign-ownership screens. KORU's exposure is achieved primarily through swap agreements and related instruments rather than full direct replication of the underlying constituents.

How is KORU traded on crypto venues?

Crypto-venue liquidity for KORU is concentrated in perpetual futures rather than spot. Per DropsTab data, a single spot pair (Crypto.com Exchange KORU/USD) sits alongside USDT-margined perpetuals on Binance Futures, OKX Futures, Hyperliquid, and several other derivatives venues — a heavily derivative-weighted split. Most crypto-venue volume flows through synthetically-settled perps rather than tokenized spot. Pricing on these venues can gap from NAV during NYSE Arca off-hours.

What is the difference between KORU spot and KORU perpetuals on crypto venues?

KORU spot on Crypto.com Exchange references tokenized exposure to the underlying ETF share. KORU perpetuals on Binance, OKX, Hyperliquid, and other derivatives venues are USDT-margined synthetics — no tokenized share backs them, and they settle against the equity price oracle. The two instrument types carry different custody, basis risk, and settlement mechanics. Spot ties to a wrapper; perps track the equity price synthetically without claiming a specific issuer.

How is KORU's value backed?

KORU is backed by a basket of swap agreements, securities of the MSCI Korea 25/50 Index, and related instruments held inside the Direxion fund. The fund's NAV is struck daily against the underlying Korean equity basket. Crypto-venue spot and perps reference this NAV but do not hold the underlying shares directly — they are derivative or tokenized exposures tracking the ETF price rather than custody of the fund.

Is KORU a token or a fund share?

KORU is an SEC-registered ETF share, not a blockchain-native token. KORU has no on-chain contract, no fixed total or maximum supply, and no token allocation. Shares are created and redeemed in primary-market baskets by Direxion's authorized participants, and the share count floats with demand. Crypto-venue trading layers a tokenized or synthetic wrapper on top of the underlying ETF share.

What is KORU's expense ratio?

KORU carries a gross and net expense ratio of 1.32% — well above plain-vanilla ETF costs — reflecting the daily leverage management. The expense is embedded in the fund's NAV rather than billed separately. Crypto-venue trading adds funding rates on perpetuals and spread costs on top of the ETF expense ratio, compounding the cost of maintaining exposure over multiple sessions.