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SpaceX IPO Lockout Drives Asian Investors to Crypto Backdoor
Mainland China and Hong Kong investors are blocked from SpaceX's $75B IPO due to export controls. Their crypto workarounds: perpetual futures, tokenized shares, and proxy stocks.
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Underwriters have told banks to reject orders from mainland China and Hong Kong for SpaceX’s public offering. The reason is compliance risk tied to U.S. export controls on rocket technology. SpaceX falls under arms-trafficking rules, so letting Chinese investors buy shares creates a regulatory problem that banks do not want to touch.
The IPO is set for June 12, 2026. SpaceX plans to offer roughly 555.6 million shares at $135 each, targeting about $75 billion in proceeds. That would value the company between $1.75 trillion and $1.8 trillion. The ticker will be SPCX.
A large chunk of Asia’s investor base is now looking for workarounds. Hyperliquid is offering perpetual futures on SPCX, giving traders synthetic exposure to SpaceX’s price moves without holding the actual stock. Ondo Finance plans to launch tokenized SPCX shares on Ethereum and Solana, accessible to non-U.S. users through wallets like MetaMask. Tokenized shares work by having a custodian hold the real equity while issuing blockchain-based tokens that represent ownership. Binance is also facilitating indirect investment opportunities, though the mechanics vary by product.