Defiance's RGTZ ETF Arrives As Rigetti Bets On Defense And Quantum's Next Frontier

Defiance ETFs’ newest product, the Daily Target 2X Short Rigetti Computing ETF (NASDAQ:RGTZ), could not have landed at a more opportune time. The fund, which aims to provide -200% daily performance of Rigetti Computing Inc’s (NASDAQ:RGTI) daily results, comes just as California-based quantum leader is experiencing a strategic shift from speculative technology startup to government-linked defense contractor.

The timing of the launch, which happened on Oct 9, is brilliant. RGTZ gives traders a chance to take a leveraged position against a company whose technology could either reshape computing or remain trapped in perpetual R&D. It’s a bold bet on the volatility of Rigetti.

Rigetti's Quantum Shift

Rigetti, once best known for its “quantum computing-as-a-service” platform, has now found its largest customers in defense and energy agencies rather than finance or academia in the U.S.

CEO Subodh Kulkarni explained to Benzinga earlier this week that government-backed projects are currently generating the most significant demand as countries compete to own quantum encryption, grid resilience, and advanced materials capacity.

Recent events highlight that pivot. The firm’s $5.7 million in new orders for Novera systems, to be delivered in 2026, represent a strategic shift away from offering cloud access toward installing physical quantum infrastructure. In other words, Rigetti is no longer designing chips—it’s designing national assets.

A Volatile Trade In A High-Stakes Sector

That shift makes Rigetti a fascinating, albeit risky, trading story, and that's where RGTZ comes in. Quantum computing remains a long game: enormous potential, but steep execution risks, high burn rates, and technological uncertainty. For short-term traders, RGTZ provides a precise and amplified way to capture daily downside moves in Rigetti's stock, particularly as it reacts to earnings swings, contract news, or shifts in investor sentiment.

In a sector where breakthroughs can move markets overnight, RGTZ gives investors an instrument to hedge or speculate—without having to short the stock directly.

Quantum's Reality Check

Governments may be investing heavily in quantum, but commercialization remains distant. Rigetti's defense pivot could buy it time and funding, yet sustained profitability remains an open question.

For investors, RGTZ is both a cynicism and a strategy used to invest in the uncertainty of a company at the nexus of physics, policy, and profit.

Because when it comes to quantum computing, as with trading, timing isn’t everything—it’s the only thing.

Read Next:

• EXCLUSIVE: Rigetti Turns Contracts Into Credibility On Its 4-Year Quantum Roadmap

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