Bybit and Kraken Launch Tokenized Access to SpaceX IPO Ahead of Nasdaq Listing
The exchanges are accepting applications for SpaceX token certificates from June 7 to June 11 at a price starting at $135. The product allows investment in the round without a brokerage account, but it is a tracking certificate, not a direct equity stake.
The Gist: What's Really Happening
The launch of tokenized certificates for SpaceX shares is not a gesture of generosity from crypto exchanges eager to give retail investors a "piece of the rocket." Rather, it is a deliberate attempt to create a parallel financial infrastructure. Bybit and Kraken, through the xStocks platform (owned by Kraken's parent company, Payward Services), offer access to the largest IPO in history. In effect, they turn a crypto wallet into a full-fledged brokerage account. But with one key caveat: you get an economic interest, not a share as a legal instrument.
Now for the numbers—and this is where it gets interesting. Bybit has set an indicative price of $135 plus a 5% underwriting fee. The effective entry price for a retail investor is around $141.75. But the main nuance lies in the "automatic execution" mechanism: if the final IPO price falls within 20% of $135 (i.e., up to $162), your order is executed without the right to opt out. Imagine: you subscribe for $10,000 expecting one scenario, but the price opens 19% higher—and you're already "in the boat." This is not investor care. It's tight control over the order flow.
What's happening globally? Traditional brokers like Fidelity or Robinhood receive tiny allocations due to a twofold oversubscription. Their clients are left empty-handed. Meanwhile, Bybit and Kraken, using the "tracker certificate" structure, open access to an audience in 110+ countries. This is not democratization of investing—it's intercepting retail flow from Wall Street right under regulators' noses. And you know what? So far, no one has flinched.
Timeline and Context
Events unfolded rapidly and synchronously—as if the exchanges were coordinating.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| June 5 | Kraken (via Payward Services) launches tokenized access to SpaceX under ticker SPCXx for verified users in 110+ regions |
| June 7 | Bybit announces the IPO Express product with the SPCX token, opening a subscription window from June 7 to June 11 |
| June 9-10 | ~550 Bybit users registered, locking up ~$9.1 million in USDC |
| June 11 | SpaceX order book closes |
| June 12 | Nasdaq trading begins and SPCX spot trading opens |
Both exchanges use the xStocks infrastructure, originally created by Backed Finance before being acquired by Kraken. Technically, the tokens are issued by Backed Assets (JE) Limited, registered in Jersey. Is $9.1 million insignificant for the largest exchange? Possibly. But this is just a "reconnaissance mission."
At the same time, SpaceX collected institutional orders worth approximately $150 billion against a target placement of $75 billion. A twofold oversubscription means that in the traditional channel, retail investors will receive either symbolic lots or nothing. Scarcity is created—and the exchanges are exploiting it.
An interesting detail: Bybit has completely excluded residents of the European Economic Area (27 EU countries plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway), citing the lack of a MiCA license. Kraken, however, has not—it provides access in the EEA through a subsidiary licensed in Cyprus. Classic regulatory arbitrage. Even within the same alliance, compliance approaches differ drastically.
Who Wins and Who Loses
Winners:
First and foremost—Payward Services and Kraken, which control the xStocks infrastructure. They not only collect fees for token issuance but also turn themselves into a "golden pickaxe" for all future blockbuster IPOs. OpenAI, Anthropic, or other unicorns will go public—xStocks will already be a ready-made tokenization pipeline.
The second winner is Bybit. Yes, a modest $9 million in preliminary orders so far. But they attracted an elite VIP audience that locked up liquidity and now must wait for allocation. A clever marketing move that retains large traders on the platform.
The third group is institutional arbitrageurs. Notice the divergence between products? While Bybit and Kraken offer "physically backed" tokens (with caveats), Binance, Coinbase, and Hyperliquid have launched synthetic pre-IPO perpetual futures. The price difference between these instruments and the actual spot after listing creates arbitrage opportunities with leverage. But only for large players with fast execution.
Losers:
Traditional retail brokers. When Bybit and Kraken advertise the ability to "invest in IPOs on par with institutions without a brokerage account," they are directly attacking the business model of Robinhood, eToro, and similar services. If the format catches on, brokers will lose fees and, more importantly, the customer base of young investors. And those investors are already on crypto exchanges.
The second losers are the SPCX holders themselves. No dividends, no voting rights. And most troubling: the product terms explicitly state that the backing "may not always consist of underlying shares," allowing substitution with "other suitable assets, including cash collateral." Bybit explicitly states it does not verify the composition of the collateral or the maintenance of a "1:1" ratio. Sounds like a promise that can be bent to justify any replacement, right?
What the Media Isn't Saying
The key non-obvious insight is the legal structure of the "tracker certificate" as a debt instrument, not an equity stake. Backed Assets (JE) Limited issues a bearer debt instrument—a promissory note payable to the bearer. You do not own a SpaceX share. You own a promise from a Jersey company to pay you an amount equivalent to the price of a SpaceX share. If the issuer goes bankrupt or faces lawsuits, you are a creditor, not a shareholder. In bankruptcy, creditors rank above shareholders, but here's the catch: this is unsecured debt.
The second hidden factor is the direct contradiction between marketing and actual terms. In press releases and CEO Ben Zhou's posts on X, Bybit states: "1=1 stock backed, compliant and secure." But in the legal terms, it's in black and white: collateral may be replaced with cash and other assets without notice to the holder. "Substitution of collateral" is a classic technique in structured products to free the issuer from holding real shares. If SpaceX rises 50%, the issuer may not have a cushion of real shares. Just a promise. Would you buy a promise for $135?
The third insight is the strategic timing of the launch, just two days before the close of SpaceX's order book. June 11 is the subscription deadline, June 12 is the start of Nasdaq trading and simultaneously the opening of SPCX spot trading. The timing is no coincidence. It creates the illusion that you are buying a ticket just before the train departs. In reality, the price of SPCX will be determined not only by the price of SpaceX but also by supply and demand on the crypto exchange. If many want to sell SPCX to lock in profits after listing, the token could decouple from the underlying stock downward. The so-called "liquidation discount."
Forecast: Next 30 Days and 90 Days
Next 30 days (through mid-July): June 12 is D-day. SpaceX debuts on Nasdaq, SPCX starts trading on Bybit. In the first 24 hours, the price could surge 20-30% on hype, then correct. The key risk is the "allocation problem." Due to massive demand ($150 billion vs. $75 billion), even Bybit VIP clients may receive only a small fraction of the subscribed amount. Those who don't get allocation will start buying SPCX at the open, further boosting the price. But by the end of the first week, awareness of the token's legal nature will set in—and some investors will cash out.
Next 90 days (through September): Here, the precedent matters more than SpaceX itself. Bybit is already positioning IPO Express as a "recurring platform," not a one-off product. If the tracker certificate scheme passes without regulatory lawsuits (and the SEC is currently busy with the CLARITY Act and other matters), the next candidates will be OpenAI, Anthropic, and other unicorns. The market for tokenized stocks will explode. But there is a downside: in May 2026, tokenized pre-IPO products on PreStocks tied to OpenAI and Anthropic collapsed after the companies stated that share transfers via SPVs were invalid. SpaceX has not made such statements. But silence is not a guarantee. The risk of a lawsuit declaring tracker certificates a violation of corporate bylaws remains high.
Editorial Forecast
Asset: SPCX Token (Bybit / Kraken xStocks) Direction: Short-term growth of 10-20% in the first 24 hours after listing on June 12, followed by a correction. Key Levels: $145-$155 at open (premium to $135), pullback to $130-$140 within a week. Confidence Level: Medium. Main Risk: If actual SpaceX shareholders start selling en masse on Nasdaq, the underlying asset price will drop, and the SPCX token, lacking dividend protection, will crash in sync. But the main threat is regulatory: the SEC could classify SPCX as an unregistered security within days of listing. Then trading would be frozen.
In the next 72 hours (until the subscription closes on June 11), expect a final surge in registrations. The total amount of locked USDC will rise from the current $9 million to $30-40 million. After trading opens on June 12, the market will be extremely emotional—we do not recommend entering with large volumes in the first hour. The best strategy: watch the spread between SPCX and the real price of SpaceX on Nasdaq. If the discount reaches 15-20%, consider buying with a 1-2 week horizon—until Bybit or Kraken announce a token buyback. Remember: you own a promissory note, not a rocket.
— Editorial Team
