Hyperliquid pre-IPO trading draws $194 million as SpaceX frenzy builds

Hyperliquid's pre-IPO market for SpaceX drew $194 million in open interest, making synthetic SPCX-USDC perps the decentralized exchange's most-traded asset. The market, which debuted ahead of SpaceX's June 12 listing, initially climbed about 70 percent above the $135 IPO price before cooling as the stock began trading, Hyperliquid data shows.

SpaceX completed the largest IPO in history on June 12, offering 555.6 million shares at $135 and raising about $75 billion at a roughly $1.75 trillion valuation. The stock rose above $200 within days before reversing, falling more than 40 percent from post-IPO highs as investors braced for the company's first earnings report and an Aug. 6 lockup expiry that frees up to 912 million shares.

The pre-IPO derivatives carry no ownership rights and are not equity, functioning as a short-term price discovery mechanism. With Anthropic, OpenAI and Anduril Industries among the next IPO candidates, crypto exchanges see a new source of transaction revenue as retail investors seek access to companies locked out of traditional IPO allocations.

A new revenue stream for DEXs

Every pre-IPO trade on Hyperliquid generates a transaction fee, aligning incentives for investors seeking early access and exchanges chasing volume. At one point, SpaceX pre-IPO shares were the most actively traded on Hyperliquid, surpassing trading in Bitcoin. The SPCX-USDC market has since grown to more than $194 million in open interest and over $115 million in 24-hour trading volume, reflecting continued speculative interest from crypto traders.

SpaceX also holds 18,712 Bitcoin on its balance sheet, making it the eighth-largest public corporate holder, according to BitcoinTreasuries. The company reported a 92 percent jump in second-quarter revenue on Aug. 4, and CEO Bret Johnsen told analysts the company is on track to record annualized revenue of $100 billion by year-end.

Regulatory limits and pushback

US investors remain barred from Hyperliquid's pre-IPO market because the offshore exchange lacks approval from US regulators. Centralized exchanges such as Coinbase Global plan to offer pre-IPO trading, but the regulatory environment remains at odds with the activity. When Robinhood Markets teased tokenized equity last summer, it drew immediate blowback from companies wary of speculative trading ahead of their debuts.

Wall Street investment banks, which earn fees pricing pre-IPO companies, also oppose the launch of parallel crypto markets doing the same work. The lockup expiry will test whether early SpaceX investors hold or sell, with a large insider sale potentially showing how much confidence early backers hold in the company's outlook.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.