SpaceX is preparing for one of the biggest public listings in market history, and crypto traders are not waiting for the opening bell.
SpaceX is preparing for one of the biggest public listings in market history, and crypto traders are not waiting for the opening bell.
The company is reportedly targeting a June initial public offering (IPO) at a valuation of roughly $1.75 trillion. The debut could rank Elon Musk’s rocket and satellite company among the world’s most valuable public firms from day one.
The planned listing sits at the nexus of several of this year’s hottest narratives, from artificial intelligence and space exploration to corporate Bitcoin (BTC) treasuries. It also coincides with a broader wave of highly anticipated tech IPOs, including planned listings for OpenAI and Anthropic.
As a result, SpaceX is drawing intense interest from retail investors, including crypto natives. It is testing whether crypto markets can turn pre-IPO hype into speculative trading volume before shares ever list.
The race is already underway, with crypto venues rolling out perpetual futures, prediction markets, and tokenized products tied to SpaceX and other pre-IPO companies.
Will SpaceX shares go to the moon after its planned IPO? Source: SpaceX
Accessing Private Markets
For retail investors, the appeal lies in access to private-market exposure long dominated by institutions.
“By the time public markets get access, most of the value creation has already happened in private markets,” Haley Schaffer, founder and managing partner at Waypoint West, told InvestmentNews.
But the new products come with risks. Complex structures, thin liquidity, and unclear legal rights mean that “the ‘ownership’ the [holder] thought they had may not be ownership at all,” Schaffer said.
Growth in private markets has outpaced public markets for years. Source: Moonfare
Different Products, Same Bet
The pending wave of mega-IPOs has spawned new classes of crypto trading products tied to private-company valuations. For SpaceX, the two main routes are pre-IPO perpetual futures and prediction markets.
Pre-IPO Perpetuals
The most direct route is the pre-IPO perpetual future.
In May, Hyperliquid-linked Trade.xyz and Binance each launched perpetual contracts tied to SpaceX. Meanwhile, OKX rolled out similar products tied to SpaceX, OpenAI and Anthropic.
These contracts let traders bet on what SpaceX may be worth when it eventually lists. They can go long or short, and in some cases use leverage, without buying the company’s shares.
Early demand has been significant. Trade.xyz’s SpaceX pre-IPO perpetual on Hyperliquid reportedly drew $33 million in 24-hour volume during its first session.
Crucially, the exposure is synthetic. The contracts do not grant holders SpaceX shares, voting rights, or any other claim on the company.
Hyperliquid has been a top venue for pre-IPO perps. Source: CoinMarketCap
Prediction Markets
Prediction markets are opening a second route.
On May 19, Polymarket launched a suite of private-company markets through a partnership with Nasdaq Private Market. Kalshi has listed similar markets around IPO timing, including contracts on which companies will go public first.
Polymarket’s highest-volume pre-IPO prediction contract, tied to SpaceX’s first-day trading market cap, has generated about $3 million in volume since February.
Unlike perpetual futures, which can provide ongoing exposure to a company’s implied valuation, prediction markets pay out only if a specific event happens by a set date. Recent examples include whether OpenAI will top a $1 trillion valuation at IPO before 2027, and whether OpenAI or Anthropic will go public first.
Polymarket hosts numerous pre-IPO event markets. Source: CoinMarketCap
Tokenization Risks
Some platforms have marketed tokenized exposure to private companies such as OpenAI, Anthropic and SpaceX. The pitch has centered on fractional, on-chain access to shares ordinary investors usually cannot buy.
However, private-company shares are often restricted, with transfers subject to board approval or other limitations. As a result, a token’s link to a company’s underlying equity can be tenuous.
In May, Solana-based tokens marketed as exposure to Anthropic and OpenAI plunged after both companies warned that the underlying private-share transfers were invalid without board sign-off.
Solana has become a major venue for tokenized equities. Source: CoinMarketCap
Assessing Trade-Offs
SpaceX is becoming a test case for whether crypto venues can create liquid, retail-facing markets around private companies before they list.
While none of these on-chain instruments offer true SpaceX ownership, many retail investors seem willing to trade that for early exposure.
“For the first time, anyone can engage with the outcomes driving value at the world’s most consequential private companies,” Polymarket said in a May 19 statement.
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