SpaceX’s $1.75 Trillion IPO Opens to Crypto Users via Tokenized Shares on Kraken and Bybit

Key Highlights

• SpaceX priced its IPO at a fixed $135 per share on 11 June, with Nasdaq trading under ticker SPCX beginning 12 June, in what is set to become the largest IPO in global history.
• Kraken and Bybit both offer tokenized SpaceX exposure via xStocks tracker certificates starting from a 100 USDC minimum, requiring no traditional brokerage account.
• These tokens are tracker certificates backed 1:1 by real equity held in custody, but carry no shareholder voting rights and no dividend entitlements.
• A built-in 5% underwriting fee applies to the crypto route, compared to typically zero fees on primary allocations through traditional brokerages.
• Users in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia are excluded from both crypto platforms; EEA users are excluded from Bybit but can access the offering through Kraken's Cyprus-licensed subsidiary.
• SpaceX could be fast-tracked into the Nasdaq-100 within roughly 15 trading days of listing, a mechanism some analysts estimate could trigger billions in mechanical passive-fund buying, though this figure remains unconfirmed by Nasdaq or the underwriters.

SpaceX has priced its initial public offering at a fixed $135 per share, with trading on Nasdaq under the ticker SPCX beginning 12 June. The offering targets a valuation of roughly $1.75 trillion and aims to raise $75 billion, positioning it as potentially the largest IPO ever recorded. For crypto users who lack access to traditional US brokerage infrastructure, two major exchanges — Kraken and Bybit — have built tokenized subscription pathways into the offering, though the products on offer differ meaningfully from owning the underlying stock.

The Scale and Structure of the Offering

SpaceX filed its S-1 prospectus with the SEC and moved through an accelerated roadshow process. Unlike most major IPOs, which set a price range and adjust based on demand through bookbuilding, SpaceX moved directly to a fixed $135 price. The underwriting syndicate includes 23 financial institutions, with Goldman Sachs as lead underwriter alongside Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, Citigroup, and JPMorgan Chase.

Notably, SpaceX has reserved up to 30% of the total offering for retail investors — roughly triple the typical industry allocation of 5% to 10%. The offering provides direct access to the world's dominant aerospace and satellite communications operator. Starlink alone generated $11.4 billion in revenue in 2025, representing approximately 61% of the company's total revenue, positioning satellite infrastructure as a central driver of the long-term valuation case.

What Buying Through Kraken or Bybit Actually Gets You

Both platforms operate on the same underlying infrastructure — the xStocks framework run by Payward Services, Kraken's parent company. On Kraken, users navigate to the Upcoming IPOs section, select the SpaceX pre-order, and submit a conditional offer with funds reserved rather than immediately debited; the tokenized ticker is tracked as SPCXx. On Bybit, users access the IPO Express page, review the $135 indicative price plus the 5% underwriting fee, confirm eligibility, and commit a minimum of 100 USDC, with unallocated funds returned automatically if the offering is oversubscribed.

Critically, neither platform sells direct, registered Nasdaq equity. Instead, both issue digital tracker certificates from Backed Assets (JE) Limited, a Jersey-based entity, designed to mirror SpaceX's open-market price performance. These certificates provide pure economic exposure — holders receive no shareholder voting rights, no governance weight, and no dividend entitlements, even though each token is collateralised 1:1 by real SpaceX equity held in a regulated broker-dealer's custody framework once listing-day settlements clear.

Crypto Route vs. Traditional Brokerage

The core trade-offs between the two access paths are stark. The crypto route carries a built-in 5% underwriting or processing fee, versus typically zero fees on primary allocations through brokers. It offers no SIPC protection — versus up to $500,000 in coverage on a traditional brokerage account — meaning counterparty risk sits with the exchange platform itself. In exchange, the crypto route offers a far lower minimum entry point (100 USDC versus roughly one full share at $135), broader geographic access across more than 110 countries via Kraken, and continuous 24/7 secondary trading versus standard Nasdaq market hours.

The jurisdictional split is significant. Users based in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia are excluded from both Kraken's and Bybit's tokenized offerings entirely, though they retain eligibility through traditional brokerages such as Fidelity, Robinhood, Schwab, or SoFi. EEA users are excluded from Bybit but can access the offering via Kraken's Cyprus-licensed subsidiary, in addition to EU brokerages including Revolut, eToro, and Hargreaves Lansdown.

Broadly, the crypto route suits investors based outside the US who lack access to traditional brokerage channels, hold liquid USDC and want to avoid fiat conversion, or want fractional exposure starting well below the $135 share price with no restrictions on early resale. It is poorly suited to anyone who wants actual corporate equity with governance and dividend rights, who resides in an excluded jurisdiction, or who is unwilling to accept platform counterparty risk and the 5% fee.

A Third Route: Perpetual Futures

Beyond the tokenized allocation route, several platforms — including Binance, BitMEX, Bitget, OKX, and Coinbase International — have launched SPCX perpetual futures contracts ahead of the listing. These are structurally distinct from the 1:1-backed xStocks certificates: perpetuals are cash-settled synthetic instruments with no underlying custody backing, offer leverage of up to 5x, and carry ongoing funding rate costs along with significantly higher divergence risk from the underlying asset price. These products are suited only to short-term speculative positioning, not to medium-term accumulation.

Allocation Expectations

Given that demand for the $75 billion offering appears to significantly outstrip available supply across all access routes, both crypto and traditional applicants should expect partial fills rather than full allocation of their requested amounts. On the crypto side, any unallocated capital is automatically returned to users' spot wallets once final settlement clears. On the traditional brokerage side, retail allocations through platforms such as Fidelity, Robinhood, or SoFi come with strict anti-flipping rules — selling allocated shares within designated post-listing windows can result in penalties, including exclusion from future IPO allocations.

The Nasdaq-100 Catalyst

One technical factor could shape SPCX's price action in the weeks following listing. Under Nasdaq's fast-track inclusion rules for large-cap IPOs, SpaceX could join the Nasdaq-100 as early as 15 trading days after listing — around early July 2026 — bypassing the standard multi-month seasoning period typically required. Some analyst estimates, including modelling from SpotGamma, suggest this could trigger as much as $22 billion in mechanical, non-discretionary buying from passive index funds such as Invesco's QQQ and QQQM as they rebalance to include the new constituent. It is worth noting this figure has not been confirmed by Nasdaq or the underwriters, and represents an analyst projection rather than a guaranteed outcome. If it materialises, it would create algorithmic buying pressure independent of the stock's underlying fundamentals or valuation.