Is passive indexing under threat due to political risk in the United States?

I have seen some concerning developments recently that I wanted to share.

Recently, Nasdaq relaxed its guidelines to list companies in its Nasdaq 100 index.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/business/new-nasdaq-rules-include-fast-entry-new-listings-benchmark-index-2026-03-30/

This comes as SpaceX is reportedly looking to IPO at a valuation above $1.5 trillion.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/spacex-registers-take-rocket-maker-public-blockbuster-ipo-bloomberg-news-reports-2026-04-01/

S&P Dow Jones Global Indices and Morningstar are also considering changes to their indexing methodology.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/morningstar-considers-revamping-index-construction-ahead-spacex-ipo-2026-04-20/

Finally, I just came across a SEC Rule 15c3-3 change that was put into effect on March 30, which deals with collateral for borrowing equities by broker-dealers.

Normally, when broker-dealers borrow equities, the SEC requires 100% collateral in the form of cash or treasuries. The rule change on March 30 created a new form of collateral called “Eligible Equity Collateral” which includes equities listed on the Russell 1000 or the S&P 500, with 101% value considered as collateral. This effectively allows equity-for-equity fully-paid borrowing to invest into more equities. In other words, extending leverage.

Source: https://www.sec.gov/files/rules/other/2026/34-105108.pdf

My Question

Should we be worried about the U.S. financial system and by extension passive investing potentially becoming unstable due to political risk? The Nasdaq rule change will force index investors and derivatives to purchase SpaceX stock, which may be overvalued, potentially opening up an opportunity for political allies to offload overvalued shares to institutions and individual passive investors.

Additionally, the SEC rule change seems to use the fact that indexes exist to create a new form of collateralization and may introduce instability as leverage is extended to institutional investors. As their collateral goes up in value, they can borrow more to invest more into what is essentially their own collateral, making the price rise even higher.

Please correct me if I’m wrong, thank you!

Disclosures: This is a post where I’m trying to learn, and I don’t have long or short positions that I hope to manipulate with this post, nor do I have a large pile of cash.