SpaceX vs crypto stocks: which 2026 IPO bet pays

SpaceX is trading below its $135 IPO price. Marathon Digital is down 34% year to date. Coinbase has outperformed both. The math on which tech bet delivers risk-adjusted returns has not been assembled in one place until now.

The largest IPO in history arrived in June 2026 and immediately became the most traded stock in the world. SpaceX priced at $135, opened above $190, touched $225.64 within two weeks, and then fell 48% to a post-IPO low of $119.79 before stabilizing near $131. Two months after listing, buyers at the IPO price are underwater. Buyers at the peak have lost nearly half their position.

During the same period, the crypto industry's publicly traded companies followed their own trajectories. Coinbase gained 18% year to date. Marathon Digital lost 34%. Riot Platforms lost 29%. MicroStrategy, which rebranded to Strategy and now holds over 500,000 bitcoin on its balance sheet, moved roughly in line with bitcoin itself. The performances diverge sharply enough to raise a question that retail investors have been asking without receiving a rigorous answer: which of these bets actually pays?

The question matters because SpaceX and crypto stocks are competing for the same capital. They attract the same cohort of retail investors who seek asymmetric returns in technology. They trade on the same platforms. They appear in the same ARK Invest portfolios. And they share a common vulnerability: both are priced on narratives that have not yet been validated by sustained cash flow. The math on returns, volatility, and risk-adjusted performance determines which narrative deserves the premium.

SpaceX reported $7.8 billion in second-quarter revenue, exceeding Wall Street estimates. The company completed a $60 billion stock-based acquisition of Anysphere, the company behind the Cursor coding platform, adding an AI business to its rocket and satellite operations. Starlink, its satellite internet division, crossed 5 million subscribers. By every operational metric, SpaceX is performing.

The stock is not. At $131, SPCX sits 3% below its IPO price. The gap between operational strength and stock weakness has a specific cause: the 911.5 million insider shares that became eligible for sale in early August. The lockup expiration created a supply overhang that the market has not yet absorbed.

Cathie Wood's ARK Invest responded by buying more. The firm has deployed over $475 million into SPCX since the IPO, purchasing through the decline and adding $52.1 million in a single week in mid-July. Raymond James set an $800 price target, the highest on Wall Street, implying a 510% return from current levels.

The return that matters for comparison purposes is the one investors have actually received: negative 3% over two months for IPO buyers, negative 42% for buyers at the $225 peak, and negative 11% for the median entry price across the first month of trading. The SpaceX IPO has been, for most participants, a losing trade.

The publicly traded crypto sector offers a wider range of outcomes than SpaceX. The dispersion reveals which business models are working and which are not.

Coinbase (COIN) is up approximately 18% year to date. The exchange benefits from trading volume that scales with market volatility rather than market direction. Stablecoin custody revenue, institutional prime brokerage fees, and the Base L2 network's transaction revenue have diversified the company beyond pure exchange commissions. COIN is the only major crypto stock that has consistently outperformed bitcoin in 2026.

Marathon Digital (MARA) is down 34% year to date. The largest publicly traded bitcoin miner by hash rate has been squeezed by the April 2024 halving, which cut block rewards from 6.25 to 3.125 BTC. Energy costs in Texas, where Marathon operates its largest facilities, have risen 12% year over year. The company mines bitcoin at an all-in cost of approximately $43,000 per coin, leaving thin margins at current prices near $58,000.

Riot Platforms (RIOT) is down 29% year to date. Similar dynamics to Marathon, with the additional pressure of a protracted proxy fight that diverted management attention through the first half of the year. Riot's Corsicana facility in Texas is the largest single mining site in the world by capacity, but capacity does not equal profitability when the bitcoin price is flat and energy costs are rising.

Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy, MSTR) is roughly flat year to date, tracking bitcoin. The company holds over 500,000 BTC on its balance sheet, making it a leveraged proxy for bitcoin price. Its stock trades at a persistent premium to net asset value, which is a bet that the company will continue acquiring bitcoin at favorable terms. The premium has compressed from over 100% in late 2024 to roughly 40% in August 2026.

CleanSpark (CLSK) is down 22% year to date. The company has focused on acquiring distressed mining facilities at discount prices, building hash rate more cheaply than Marathon or Riot. The strategy is sound on paper, but the stock has not rewarded it because the market is pricing all miners on the same metric: bitcoin price minus energy cost. Both variables are working against the sector.

Here is the comparison that matters and that no coverage has assembled in one place. Consider a hypothetical investor with $10,000 on January 1, 2026, choosing among five options: buy bitcoin directly, buy COIN, buy MARA, buy RIOT, or wait for the SpaceX IPO and buy at the $135 listing price.

Bitcoin directly: $10,000 becomes approximately $10,400. A 4% return with no management fee, no dilution risk, and no operational leverage. The holder owns the asset and bears only price risk.

COIN: $10,000 becomes approximately $11,800. An 18% return, reflecting Coinbase's diversified revenue and its position as the primary institutional on-ramp for U.S. crypto markets.

MARA: $10,000 becomes approximately $6,600. A 34% loss, despite Marathon mining a total of approximately 6,700 bitcoin in the first half of 2026. The company produced the asset but destroyed shareholder value relative to simply holding it.

RIOT: $10,000 becomes approximately $7,100. A 29% loss, with similar dynamics to Marathon.

SpaceX (from IPO): $10,000 becomes approximately $9,700. A 3% loss over two months, with a maximum drawdown of 48% from the peak.

The result is stark. The best-performing option is a crypto company that does not mine, hold, or produce bitcoin. The worst-performing options are companies whose entire business model is producing bitcoin. The underlying asset itself outperformed three of the four equities tied to it, despite returning only 4%.

This pattern has repeated in every bitcoin cycle since mining stocks became publicly traded. Miners underperform bitcoin during flat or declining markets because their costs are fixed in dollars while their revenue is fixed in bitcoin. When bitcoin rises sharply, miners outperform because of operational leverage. But the periods of underperformance are longer and deeper than the periods of outperformance. A buy-and-hold investor in mining stocks has historically been better served by holding bitcoin directly.

The comparison is not arbitrary. SpaceX and crypto stocks share structural characteristics that make them substitutes in retail portfolios.

Both are narrative-driven. SpaceX is priced on the Starlink subscriber trajectory, the Starship program's success rate, and Elon Musk's ability to execute on a vision that includes Mars colonization. Crypto stocks are priced on bitcoin's next cycle, Ethereum's fee revenue, and the assumption that regulatory clarity will unlock institutional capital. In both cases, current cash flows do not justify current valuations. The premium is a bet on a future that has not arrived.

Both attract the same investor cohort. Retail trading platforms report that SpaceX and crypto stocks are among their most traded instruments. ARK Invest, which is the largest institutional holder of both COIN and SPCX, treats them as part of the same "disruptive innovation" thesis. The capital that flows into SpaceX on IPO day is capital that does not flow into COIN or MARA that week.

Both are accessible through synthetic instruments on crypto rails. Hyperliquid's SPCX perpetual future tracked the IPO tick for tick, hosting a $14 million leveraged short that no brokerage would have offered. The existence of equity perps on crypto venues means that the distinction between "stock" and "crypto" is blurring for the traders who move the most volume.

And both are vulnerable to the same macro risk. With the CLARITY Act's passage odds falling to 10% and regulatory certainty fading, the political tailwind that crypto stocks relied on is weakening. Higher interest rates compress the valuation multiples of unprofitable or marginally profitable growth companies. SpaceX's AI spending hit $15.8 billion in the second quarter, raising questions about burn rate. Mining companies face rising energy costs that erode already thin margins. If the Fed holds rates higher for longer, both sectors suffer.

The differences matter as much as the similarities.

SpaceX generates real revenue from real customers. Starlink's 5 million subscribers pay monthly fees. Government launch contracts provide predictable income. The Cursor acquisition adds AI revenue. SpaceX's revenue base is diversified across industries that have nothing to do with each other. This is not true of any crypto stock: every publicly traded crypto company derives the majority of its revenue from a single source: bitcoin mining, exchange volume, or token holdings.

SpaceX has a capital structure problem that crypto stocks do not. The 911.5 million insider shares that unlocked in August represent roughly 30% of the company's outstanding stock. This supply overhang will take months to absorb. Crypto stocks have their own dilution issues -- MARA has repeatedly issued shares to fund mining equipment purchases -- but none faces a single lockup expiration of this magnitude.

Crypto stocks offer direct exposure to an asset class that SpaceX does not touch. A bet on COIN is partly a bet on bitcoin, partly a bet on Ethereum, partly a bet on stablecoin adoption, and partly a bet on DeFi volume. A bet on SpaceX is a bet on rockets, satellites, and AI. The correlation between these bets is low, which means they serve different portfolio functions even if they attract the same investors.

ARK Invest's portfolio moves provide a measurable signal about how at least one major institutional investor is weighing these bets. Cathie Wood has bought SpaceX aggressively through the decline while reducing her COIN position during its rally. The trades imply a view that SpaceX is cheaper relative to its growth potential than Coinbase is.

The logic is not unreasonable. At $131, SpaceX trades at roughly 17 times trailing revenue, compared to Coinbase at approximately 12 times trailing revenue. But SpaceX's revenue is growing faster -- an estimated 40% year over year versus Coinbase's 25% -- and its addressable market (global internet access, government launch, AI infrastructure) is arguably larger than Coinbase's (U.S. crypto trading and custody).

The counterargument is that SpaceX's valuation was set by a controlled IPO process in which demand was artificially constrained, while Coinbase's valuation has been set by three years of public market price discovery. The IPO price may simply have been too high, and the current decline is a correction to fair value rather than a buying opportunity.

ARK's bet will be judged over 12 to 36 months, not two. But the size of the position -- $475 million and growing -- means that ARK's performance in 2027 will be materially affected by whether SpaceX recovers from its post-IPO decline. If it does, the SpaceX bet will look prescient. If it does not, the opportunity cost of not holding COIN or bitcoin directly will be significant.

SpaceX insider selling volume. The 911.5 million unlocked shares represent the largest near-term risk to the stock. Watch weekly SEC filings for the pace and size of insider sales. If selling decelerates before September, the supply overhang is being absorbed.

Bitcoin mining profitability after the halving. Marathon and Riot report all-in mining costs quarterly. If costs exceed $50,000 per bitcoin and the price stays below $60,000, expect further share price declines and potential consolidation in the mining sector.

Coinbase revenue diversification. Base L2 transaction revenue, stablecoin custody fees, and international exchange volume are the metrics that determine whether COIN continues to outperform. Watch the Q3 earnings report in November.

Equity perps volume on Hyperliquid. If synthetic stock trading on crypto venues grows, it creates a feedback loop: more crypto-native capital flows into stock exposure, potentially reducing demand for crypto stocks as a proxy for traditional market access.

ARK Invest rebalancing. Any reduction of the SpaceX position or increase in COIN would signal a shift in Wood's relative conviction and would move both stocks given ARK's position size.

SpaceX and crypto stocks compete for the same pool of retail capital seeking asymmetric returns in technology. They trade on the same platforms, appear in the same institutional portfolios, and share structural characteristics including narrative-driven valuations and sensitivity to interest rate changes.

As of mid-August 2026, SPCX trades at approximately $131, below its $135 IPO price, after peaking at $225.64 and declining 48%. Most retail buyers who purchased in the first month of trading are underwater.

Coinbase (COIN) has returned approximately 18% year to date, outperforming every other major publicly traded crypto company. The outperformance reflects diversified revenue from exchange commissions, stablecoin custody, institutional services, and the Base L2 network.

Mining stocks have fixed dollar costs -- energy, equipment, labor -- and revenue denominated in bitcoin. When bitcoin's price is flat or declining, miners face margin compression that does not affect holders of the underlying asset. This structural mismatch causes mining stocks to underperform bitcoin during sideways and bearish markets.

Not directly, but Hyperliquid and other decentralized venues offer perpetual futures contracts that track SpaceX's stock price. These synthetic instruments provide leveraged exposure without equity ownership, dividends, or voting rights.

ARK Invest has deployed over $475 million into SpaceX stock since the June 2026 IPO, purchasing through the price decline. The firm has simultaneously reduced its Coinbase position, signaling a relative preference for SpaceX's growth potential.

Historically, holding bitcoin directly has outperformed holding mining stocks on a buy-and-hold basis. In 2026, bitcoin returned approximately 4% while Marathon Digital lost 34% and Riot Platforms lost 29%. Mining stocks offer leveraged upside during strong bull markets but deeper drawdowns during flat or bearish periods.

The 911.5 million insider shares that became eligible for sale in August 2026. This supply overhang represents roughly 30% of outstanding shares and could suppress the stock price for months as insiders gradually sell their positions.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Stock and cryptocurrency investments carry significant risk. Always conduct your own research before making investment decisions. Information is accurate as of August 19, 2026.