SpaceX Century IPO Countdown: Which Platforms Allow Retail Investors to "Get On Board Before the Market"?

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. SpaceX expects to raise between $75 billion and $80 billion, targeting a valuation of approximately $1.75 trillion to $2 trillion. This would become the largest IPO in human history.

How staggering is this figure? If successful, it would single-handedly shatter the record of $29.4 billion set by Saudi Aramco in its 2019 IPO. It also means SpaceX will become the first supergiant in history to directly enter the capital market with a "trillion-dollar valuation."

Goldman Sachs has called this IPO a once-in-a-generation opportunity. However, in the past, this capital frenzy was largely inaccessible to ordinary people. Not only is the barrier to entry for participating in US stock IPOs extremely high, but a target like SpaceX, the focus of global capital, has already been fully priced and "carved up" long before its IPO. Retail investors chasing highs after the opening are highly susceptible to being trapped at a peak. Moreover, access to markets where such pre-pricing occurs has traditionally been limited to institutions, family offices, and high-net-worth individuals.

But now, thanks to the rise of the pre-IPO market, ordinary people finally have the opportunity to get in on SPCX early. This time, we can not only witness history but also ride the biggest wealth express train in US stock market history.

However, the current pre-IPO platforms on the market are a mixed bag. The structure, valuation methods, and funding rates for pre-listing SPCX vary widely across platforms. The pre-listing prices of SPCX also differ from one platform to another, leaving investors confused and unsure how to choose. To facilitate comparison and analysis for investors, Odaily Planet Daily will review seven pre-IPO platforms that currently list pre-listing SPCX.

Binance: SPCX/USDT Perpetual Contract

On May 21, Binance announced the listing of the SPCX/USDT perpetual contract, offering leverage of up to 5x. It has also dedicated a special pre-IPO section within its futures market, currently featuring only SPCX. The SPCX listed on Binance uses a perpetual contract structure, meaning it is purely a price speculation instrument and has no connection to the actual equity of SpaceX. The advantage of this structure is that users can not only go long on SPCX but also choose to go short, offering investors more strategic options.

Currently, the open interest (OI) for SPCX on Binance exceeds $27 million, making it the largest pre-IPO contract platform for SPCX, second only to Hyperliquid.

• Entry Barrier: Only requires passing Binance KYC.
• Valuation Method: Binance estimates SpaceX's total fully diluted shares at 11.87 billion. Therefore, the valuation formula is SPCX Price * Estimated Number of Shares = SpaceX Current Valuation. For example, if the current SPCX price is $205, SpaceX's valuation would be 205 * 11.87 ≈ 2433 (in Billions). However, it's important to note that the actual share count for SpaceX's IPO is uncertain. If the actual shares differ significantly from the estimate, the SPCX contract price on Binance could experience high volatility.
• Funding Rate: 0.005% (subject to change in real-time).

Hyperliquid: SPCX/USDC Perpetual Contract

Hyperliquid is currently the largest pre-launch DEX in the market, and its HIP-3 market is also the largest market for RWA perpetual contracts. Commodity and US stock contracts issued by Trade.xzy hold a major share. On May 18, Trade.xzy announced the launch of the SPCX/USDC perpetual contract, with an initial price of $150 and leverage of up to 5x.

The open interest (OI) for the SPCX contract issued by Trade.xzy currently exceeds $45 million, making it the largest pre-IPO contract for SPCX in terms of trading volume and contract OI.

• Entry Barrier: None.
• Valuation Method: Trade.xzy similarly estimates SpaceX's total fully diluted shares at 11.87 billion. So, the valuation formula is SPCX Price * Estimated Shares = SpaceX Current Valuation. Since the calculation method is identical to Binance's, there is theoretically an arbitrage opportunity 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-IPO perpetual contract, offering leverage of up to 20x. Although OKX listed its SPACEX/USDT perpetual contract earlier, its total OI volume is currently 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 capitalization. For instance, if the SPACEX/USDT perpetual contract is $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, so that the SPACEX price equals SpaceX's market cap divided by the total number of shares.

• Entry Barrier: Only requires passing OKX KYC.
• Valuation Method: Pre-Rebase: SPACEX Price * 1 Billion = SpaceX Market Cap; Post-Rebase: SPACEX Price * Actual Number of Shares = SpaceX Market Cap
• Funding Rate: 0.

Bitget: Stock Token preSPAX (preSPCX)

Bitget was the earliest exchange to list SpaceX pre-listing shares. On April 18, Bitget opened subscriptions for preSPAX at a fixed subscription price of $650 per preSPAX. The subscription period has now ended, 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, and its price will track SpaceX's performance post-IPO. Users who purchase preSPAX essentially obtain a debt certificate, rather than purely "trading air" like a perpetual contract. It has a relatively high compliance threshold.

• Entry Barrier: Subscription is closed. Any user who has passed Bitget's KYC can trade it on the spot market.
• Valuation Method: The implied valuation at the time of the preSPAX subscription was $1.5 trillion. Therefore, SpaceX's pre-IPO valuation formula on Bitget is preSPAX Price * Initial Implied Valuation / 650 = SpaceX Current Valuation. If the current preSPAX price is $900, SpaceX's current valuation on Bitget would be 900 * 1500 (B) / 650 ≈ 2076 (in Billions). Compared to Hyperliquid, which has the largest pre-listing SPCX trading volume and OI, the deviation in SpaceX's valuation on Bitget is significant at the same point in time.
• Trading Fee: 0.1%.

It's worth noting that on May 27, Bitget announced a split of preSPAX tokens, changing the ticker to preSPCX, at a 1:5 ratio (each preSPAX token can be split into 5 preSPCX tokens). After the split, the market price of each preSPCX token will be adjusted to one-fifth of the pre-split preSPAX price, while the total asset value held by users remains unchanged. The valuation formula will also change to preSPCX Price * Initial Implied Valuation / 130 = SpaceX Current Valuation.

Gate: Stock Token SPCX

SpaceX pre-listing shares on the Gate platform also use a synthetic note structure. On April 20, Gate opened subscriptions for SPCX at a fixed price of $590 per SPCX, with an initial implied market cap of $1.4 trillion. The subscription period has ended, and users can trade SPCX/USDT on Gate's spot market. Additionally, on May 22, Gate listed the SPCX/USDT perpetual contract pair, offering leverage of up to 10x. However, there is a noticeable price difference between the spot and contract markets. The total OI for the SPCX contract is currently under $2 million.

• Entry Barrier: Only requires passing Gate KYC.
• Valuation Method: Since Gate also performed a 1-for-5 split of SPCX shares on May 22, Gate's pre-IPO valuation formula for SpaceX is SPCX Price * Initial Implied Market Cap / 118 = SpaceX Current Valuation. If the current SPCX price is $180, SpaceX's current valuation on Gate would be 180 * 1400 (B) / 118 ≈ 2135 (in Billions).
• 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, with leverage of up to 3x. However, Lighter's liquidity and trading depth are far inferior to Hyperliquid's, with its SPACEX open interest (OI) volume under $1 million.

• Entry Barrier: None.
• Valuation Method: Consistent with OKX's method, SPACEX Price * 1 Billion = SpaceX Market Cap.
• Funding Rate: Floating rate, 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 on-chain as early as August 2025. Users can trade it freely on-chain or purchase it through Web3 platforms like Jupiter and Binance Wallet. PreStocks uses an SPV mapping structure, where an offshore SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle) holds the actual shares, and these are mapped 1:1 into on-chain tokens. The tokens purchased by users correspond to the economic rights of the actual shares. PreStocks maintains price stability through a minting/burning mechanism.

Currently, SPACEX has 8,220 on-chain holders and a total supply of 8,740 tokens.

• Entry Barrier: Freely tradeable on-chain; large transactions require contacting the team.
• Valuation Method: The pre-IPO valuation of SpaceX on PreStocks depends on the price of the underlying secondary market pre-listing SpaceX benchmark instrument. Therefore, the valuation formula is SPACEX Price * Secondary Benchmark Market Cap / Secondary Benchmark Price. The benchmark price and market cap for SpaceX's pre-listing token that PreStocks tracks can be viewed on the official website. For example, if the current SpaceX secondary benchmark price is $965.58 and the benchmark market cap is $2.38 trillion, and the SPACEX price is $825, then SpaceX's pre-IPO valuation on PreStocks would be 825 * 2380 / 965.58 ≈ 2033 (in Billions).
• Fees: None (from the protocol side), but third-party wallets and DEXs may charge varying transaction fees.