Coinbase Launches Pre-IPO Perpetual Futures on SpaceX

Coinbase has launched pre-IPO markets starting with Elon Musk’s SpaceX. The exchange now offers non-US users perpetual futures contracts tied to the private company’s estimated pre-listing valuation.

Coinbase offers USDC-settled perpetual futures tracking SpaceX valuation. The product is a USDC-settled perpetual futures contract that tracks SpaceX’s pre-IPO valuation. It allows 24/7 trading with no expiry or rollover and settles profits and losses in USDC according to a company blog post.

Positions can be opened and closed at any time similar to existing perpetual futures contracts on the platform. Upon a future IPO positions will automatically transition into a post-IPO perpetual futures contract referencing the public listing.

Product excludes US persons at launch. The offering is not available to US persons. It is initially rolling out to eligible users in supported jurisdictions outside the United States reflecting restrictions on offering private market securities exposure in the country.

Launch expands access to private market exposure. Coinbase said the product is intended to expand access to private market exposure which has traditionally been limited to venture capital firms and institutional investors. SpaceX serves as the initial listing due to strong global demand for exposure to Elon Musk’s space and satellite company.

Crypto exchanges intensify competition for pre-IPO products. The launch comes amid intensifying competition among crypto exchanges to bring private market exposure into tokenized or synthetic form. Kraken’s parent company Payward announced a similar initiative the previous day offering tokenized access to pre-IPO companies.

Binance launched derivative products linked to high-profile private firms including SpaceX in May. Bitget launched IPO Prime a platform for pre-IPO investment products in April starting with a SpaceX-linked offering.

RWA market grows as tokenized assets gain traction. The broader push coincides with accelerating interest in tokenized real-world assets. Research from Bernstein released May 26 estimated the RWA market has grown to $51 billion expanding 42% this year as investors seek fractional exposure to traditionally illiquid private assets.

A separate Bitget report published May 26 found tokenized stocks still make up a low-single-digit share of the RWA market. Most activity is clustered in a few big-tech names such as Tesla Alphabet and Microsoft trading on offshore platforms. SpaceX remains one of the most closely watched private companies globally with valuations in recent private market and institutional estimates reaching as high as $1.75 trillion depending on methodology and secondary market pricing.