DRAM ETF Sinks Nearly 32% as Margin Calls Hit Memory Stock Investors: Charlie Bilello Warns ‘That Almost Never Ends Well’

The Roundhill Memory ETF (BATS:DRAM) has plunged nearly 32% in July as a wave of margin calls strikes over-leveraged memory stock investors.

Wealth manager Charlie Bilello warns that the speculative frenzy leading up to this crash is a familiar story, cautioning that “that almost never ends well for investors.”

The Leverage Trap

The DRAM ETF, heavily weighted toward South Korean semiconductor giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix Inc. (NASDAQ:SKHY), has suffered severe volatility.

In July, the ETF sank 31.79% following record-breaking inflows. Characterizing the late-June peak as a “really speculative mania,” Bilello noted there was “money flooding into these ETFs like I’ve really never seen before,” pointing out that the DRAM ETF rapidly raised nearly $30 billion.

This massive influx of capital was largely fueled by borrowed money. In South Korea, forced retail sales soared to over 61 billion won ($42 million) in a single day as margin calls mounted.

The unwinding of this heavy retail leverage contributed to the KOSPI index plunging 22.18% in July, marking its worst monthly performance since the 2008 global financial crisis.

Hedge Fund Rescue and Contagion Fears

The systemic risk of this leverage was exposed when Leopold Aschenbrenner‘s AI-heavy Situational Awareness hedge fund faced a crisis.

A disorderly market fire sale was only averted when Citadel acquired the bulk of the fund’s roughly $16 billion public-equity portfolio. While this intervention helped the DRAM ETF cautiously rebound from a low of $44.4 to $50.3, the relief was temporary.

The broader tech-heavy KOSPI index extended its historic selloff, dropping over 4% on Monday. Samsung Electronics tumbled approximately 12.50%, and SK Hynix fell 4.82% over the last five trading sessions.

Together, these two chipmakers make up over half of the KOSPI’s total weighting and nearly 50% of the DRAM ETF, leaving the market highly vulnerable. Despite major tech companies pledging to continue AI spending, analysts warn the unwinding of these leveraged memory bets may not be over.

How Has DRAM Performed in 2026?

While the DRAM ETF was up 86.56% since its listing in April, it was down 31.79% in July, 5.32% over the last five sessions, and it closed lower by 3.76% at $50.37 on Friday. It was up 2.50% in overnight trading.

With $24.99 billion in assets under management, Benzinga Edge Stock Rankings showed that the DRAM ETF had a weak price trend across the small, medium, and long terms.

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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