SpaceX Century IPO Countdown: Which Platforms Allow Retail Investors to "Get on Board Before the Listing"?
- Core Thesis: SpaceX is set to conduct its largest-ever IPO on June 12 (with an estimated valuation of ~$2 trillion), but retail investors have historically found it difficult to participate. Through Pre-IPO products on 7 platforms including Binance and Hyperliquid, ordinary investors can now trade SPCX in advance. However, the contract structures, valuation methods, and price differences across platforms are significant and require careful distinction.
- Key Elements:
- SpaceX's IPO targets a valuation of $1.75-2 trillion, aiming to raise $75-80 billion, potentially surpassing Saudi Aramco's historical record of $29.4 billion. Goldman Sachs calls this a "once-in-a-generation opportunity."
- Platforms like Binance, OKX, and Hyperliquid offer SPCX/SPACEX perpetual contracts, but their structure is purely price speculation, unrelated to SpaceX's actual equity. Among them, Hyperliquid has the highest Open Interest (OI), exceeding $45 million.
- Bitget and Gate use a synthetic note structure (issued by regulated entities), with prices tracking post-listing performance. However, different valuation methods lead to significant price discrepancies compared to other platforms (e.g., Bitget's implied valuation shows a larger deviation).
- PreStocks (a Solana-based platform) uses an SPV-mapping structure, holding real shares via an offshore SPV and issuing 1:1 mapped tokens, allowing users to experience economic rights closer to actual equity.
- Valuation formulas vary greatly across platforms: Binance/Hyperliquid calculate based on an estimated share count (11.87 billion shares), OKX prices at one ten-billionth of market cap, while Gate/Bitget adjust based on initial implied market cap. This results in current pre-IPO valuations ranging from $2.03 trillion to $2.4 trillion.
Original by Odaily Planet Daily (@OdailyChina)
Author: Golem (@web3_golem)
On June 12, SpaceX will ring the bell for its IPO on the Nasdaq under the ticker SPCX. The company plans to raise between $75 billion and $80 billion, targeting a valuation of approximately $1.75 trillion to $2 trillion. This would make it the largest IPO in human history.
How staggering is this number? If successful, it would single-handedly surpass the $29.4 billion record set by Saudi Aramco during its 2019 IPO, and it would also mark SpaceX as the first supergiant company in history to directly enter the capital markets with a "trillion-dollar valuation."
Goldman Sachs has called this IPO a once-in-a-generation opportunity. However, in the past, this capital market frenzy had little to do with the average person. Not only are the barriers to participating in a US IPO extremely high, but a globally coveted target like SpaceX is typically fully priced and "carved up" well before its IPO. Retail investors chasing highs after the opening often get stuck at peak prices. Moreover, pre-IPO pricing markets are accessible only to institutions, family offices, and high-net-worth individuals.
But now, thanks to the rise of the Pre-IPO market, ordinary people finally have a chance to get in on SPCX early. This time, we can not only witness history but also hop on the biggest wealth train in US stock market history.
However, the current Pre-IPO platforms vary widely in quality. The structures, valuation methods, and funding rates for pre-listing SPCX differ across platforms, and the pre-listing prices of SPCX also vary, leaving investors confused about how to choose. To facilitate comparison and analysis for investors, Odaily Planet Daily will review seven Pre-IPO platforms currently offering pre-listing SPCX in this article.
Binance: SPCX/USDT Perpetual Contract
On May 21, Binance announced the listing of the SPCX/USDT perpetual contract, offering up to 5x leverage. It also created a dedicated Pre-IPO section in its futures market, which currently only includes SPCX. Binance's SPCX adopts a perpetual contract structure, making it purely a price speculation instrument—completely unrelated to SpaceX's actual equity. However, the advantage of this structure is that users can not only go long on SPCX but also choose to short it, giving investors more strategic options.
Currently, the open interest (OI) for SPCX on Binance exceeds $27 million, making it the second-largest SPCX pre-listing contract platform after Hyperliquid.
- Eligibility: Must pass Binance KYC requirements
- Valuation Method: Binance estimates SpaceX's fully diluted share count at 11.87 billion shares. Thus, the valuation formula is SPCX Price * Estimated Share Count = SpaceX's Current Valuation. For example, if SPCX is currently trading at $205, SpaceX's valuation would be 205 * 11.87 ≈ $2,433 Billion. However, it's worth noting that the actual number of SpaceX IPO shares is uncertain; if the actual share count significantly deviates from the estimate, the SPCX contract price on Binance may also fluctuate sharply.
- Funding Rate: 0.005% (variable)
Hyperliquid: SPCX/USDC Perpetual Contract
Hyperliquid is currently the largest Pre-Launch DEX on the market, and its HIP-3 market is also the largest market for RWA perpetual contracts, with commodity and US stock contracts issued by Trade.xzy holding the majority share. On May 18, Trade.xzy announced the launch of the SPCX/USDC perpetual contract with an initial listing price of $150 and up to 5x leverage.
The current open interest (OI) for SPCX issued by Trade.xzy exceeds $45 million, making it the SPCX pre-listing contract with the highest trading volume and open interest in the market.
- Eligibility: No requirements
- Valuation Method: Trade.xzy also estimates SpaceX's fully diluted share count at 11.87 billion shares. Therefore, the valuation formula is SPCX Price * Estimated Share Count = SpaceX's Current Valuation. Since the valuation calculation method is the same as Binance's SPCX, arbitrage opportunities theoretically exist between the two platforms.
- Funding Rate: Hourly floating rate, typically below 0.0001%
OKX: SPACEX/USDT Perpetual Contract
On May 7, OKX also announced the listing of the SPACEX/USDT pre-listing perpetual contract, offering up to 20x leverage. Although OKX listed the SPACEX/USDT pre-listing perpetual contract earlier, its total OI currently stands at less than $10 million.
OKX's valuation method also differs from Binance and Trade.xzy. Before SpaceX discloses its actual share count, the price of SPACEX equals one-billionth of SpaceX's market cap. For instance, if the SPACEX/USDT pre-listing perpetual contract is trading at $2,400, then SpaceX's market cap on OKX would be $2.4 trillion. After SpaceX discloses its actual share count, OKX will perform a Rebase (proportional adjustment) on the SPACEX contract price, making the SPACEX price equivalent to SpaceX's Market Cap / Total Shares.
- Eligibility: Must pass OKX KYC requirements
- Valuation Method: Before Rebase: SPACEX Price * 1 Billion = SpaceX Market Cap; After Rebase: SPACEX Price * Actual Share Count = SpaceX Market Cap
- Funding Rate: 0
Bitget: Stock Token preSPAX (preSPCX)
Bitget was the earliest exchange to list a pre-listing SpaceX stock. On April 18, Bitget opened subscriptions for preSPAX, with a fixed subscription price of $650 per preSPAX. The subscription has now closed, and users can trade PreSPAX/USDT on Bitget's spot market.
Bitget's preSPAX uses a synthetic note structure. preSPAX is a digital token issued by Republic, a regulated issuer. Its price will track SpaceX's performance post-listing. Users purchasing preSPAX essentially receive a debt certificate, rather than purely "trading air" like a perpetual contract, giving it a higher compliance threshold.
- Eligibility: Subscription closed; any user who has passed Bitget KYC can trade on the spot market.
- Valuation Method: The implied valuation for the preSPAX subscription was $1.5 trillion. Therefore, the pre-listing valuation formula for SpaceX on Bitget is preSPAX Price * Initial Implied Valuation / 650 = SpaceX's Current Valuation. For example, if the preSPAX price is currently $900, then SpaceX's current valuation on Bitget would be 900 * 1500 (B) / 650 ≈ $2,076 Billion. Using Hyperliquid, where pre-listing trading volume and OI are highest, as the valuation benchmark, the SpaceX valuation on Bitget shows a significant deviation at the same time.
- Trading Fee: 0.1%
It's important to note that on May 27, Bitget announced a split of preSPAX and a ticker change to preSPCX, with a split ratio of 1:5 (every 1 preSPAX token can be split into 5 preSPCX tokens). After the token split, the market price of each preSPCX token will be adjusted to one-fifth of the preSPAX price before the split. The total assets held by users remain unchanged, and the valuation formula will become preSPCX Price * Initial Implied Valuation / 130 = SpaceX's Current Valuation.
Gate: Stock Token SPCX
The pre-listing SpaceX stock on Gate also uses a synthetic note structure. On April 20, Gate opened subscriptions for SPCX, with a fixed subscription price of $590 per SPCX and an initial implied market cap of $1.4 trillion. The subscription has now closed, and users can trade SPCX/USDT on Gate's spot market. Additionally, Gate listed the SPCX/USDT perpetual contract pair on May 22, offering up to 10x leverage. However, there is a significant price difference between the spot and futures contracts, and the total OI for the SPCX contract is currently less than $2 million.
- Eligibility: Must pass Gate KYC requirements
- Valuation Method: Because Gate also performed a 1:5 split of SPCX shares on May 22, the pre-listing valuation formula for SpaceX on Gate is SPCX Price * Initial Implied Market Cap / 118 = SpaceX's Current Valuation. For example, if the SPCX price is currently $180, then SpaceX's current valuation on Gate would be 180 * 1400 (B) / 118 ≈ $2,135 Billion.
- Contract Funding Rate: 0
Lighter: SPACEX Perpetual Contract
Lighter is a Pre-Launch DEX. On May 9, Lighter also announced the listing of the SpaceX pre-listing perpetual contract, SPACEX, offering up to 3x leverage. However, Lighter's liquidity and trading depth are far inferior to those of Hyperliquid, and its issued SPACEX has an open interest (OI) of less than $1 million.
- Eligibility: No requirements
- Valuation Method: Consistent with OKX's valuation method, SPACEX Price * 1 Billion = SpaceX Market Cap
- Funding Rate: Floating system, but more volatile than Hyperliquid's
PreStocks: Stock Token SPACEX
PreStocks is a Pre-IPO platform built on Solana, incubated by Alliance. PreStocks listed SpaceX's pre-listing token, SPACEX, in August 2025, allowing users to trade it freely on-chain or purchase it through Web3 platforms like Jupiter and the Binance wallet. PreStocks uses an SPV mapping structure, meaning it holds actual shares through an offshore SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle) and then maps them 1:1 into on-chain tokens. The tokens users purchase correspond to the economic rights of real shares. PreStocks maintains price stability through a minting/redemption mechanism.
Currently, the SPACEX token has 8,220 on-chain holders and a supply of 8,740 tokens.
- Eligibility: Free on-chain trading; large amounts require contacting the team.
- Valuation Method: The pre-listing valuation of SpaceX on PreStocks depends on the price of the secondary market pre-listing SpaceX target it is pegged to. Therefore, the valuation formula is SPACEX Price * Secondary Marked Market Cap / Secondary Marked Price. The pre-listing target price and market cap pegged by PreStocks can be viewed on the official website. For example, if the current secondary market price for the SpaceX target is $965.58 and the marked market cap is $2.38 trillion, and if the SPACEX price is $825, then the pre-listing valuation of SpaceX on PreStocks would be 825 * 2380 / 965.58 ≈ $2,033 Billion.
- Fees: None, but third-party wallets and DEXs may charge varying transaction fees.
