- The short seller urged the SEC’s Division of Enforcement to investigate whether Fundrise is currently paying influencers, YouTube creators, newsletters, or any content publishers to promote VCX.
- Citron also questioned whether Fundrise’s domain for VCX, GetVCX.com, constitutes a misleading solicitation of a publicly traded security, since it is a call to action in itself.
- It noted that the Fundrise Innovation Fund has disclosed marketing expenses in its prospectus, and called for scrutiny into how those funds are actually being used.
Fundrise Innovation Fund (VCX) tanked more than 37% in Thursday’s opening trade after Citron Research on Thursday announced that it is short the public venture fund that provides investors with access to top private technology companies.
The short seller highlighted in a post on X that VCX is currently trading at more than $400, even though its assets are worth $19.
Citron noted that the fund’s sponsor, Fundrise Advisors LLC, was charged by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2023 for violations related to paid solicitation.
Retail sentiment on Stocktwits around Fundrise Innovation Fund trended in the ‘extremely bullish’ territory at the time of writing.
Citron Calls For SEC Investigation
The short seller urged the SEC’s Division of Enforcement to investigate whether Fundrise is currently paying influencers, YouTube creators, newsletters or any content publishers to promote VCX.
Citron also questioned whether Fundrise’s domain for VCX, GetVCX.com, constitutes a misleading solicitation of a publicly traded security since it is a call to action in itself.
Citron noted that the Fundrise Innovation Fund has disclosed marketing expenses in its prospectus, and called for scrutiny into how those funds are actually being used.
“Retail investors chasing Anthropic and SpaceX exposure deserve answers. With this sponsor, these are not paranoid questions. There are too many of these guys,” Citron stated.
VCX’s top holding is Anthropic at 20.7%, followed by Databricks at 17.7% and OpenAI at 9.9%, according to data from Fundrise’s website.
Fundrise Innovation Fund Story Mirrors DXYZ, Says Citron
Citron added that the Fundrise Innovation Fund story mirrors that of Destiny Tech100 (DXYZ), which also gives investors access to private AI and tech companies such as SpaceX, xAI, OpenAI, and Databricks.
Citron noted that at its March 2024 debut, retail frenzy pushed DXYZ above $75 apiece despite a net asset value (NAV) of $5, implying a premium of more than 1,400%.
DXYZ is currently hovering around $30 per share, and its NAV stood at $19.97 as of Dec. 31, 2025, implying a premium of about 50%.
“If $VCX premium compresses to where $DXYZ trades today, here is the math: NAV: ~$19 DXYZ current premium: ~35% Implied $VCX price: ~$26. That is a decline of over 93% from current levels,” said Citron.
How Did Retail Traders React?
One user thinks DXYZ is a better, less risky trade than VCX, adding that it has “plenty of room to run.”
Another user echoed similar sentiments, stating that people should be buying DXYZ.
VCX stock is up 1,116% year-to-date.
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