Coinbase announced earlier this week that it has launched pre-IPO perpetual futures contracts, naming SpaceX as the first available asset and making the product accessible to eligible users outside the United States.
The new offering allows retail traders outside the U.S. to gain price exposure to one of the world’s most closely watched private companies without needing equity ownership or traditional brokerage access.
What the Product Actually Is
The SpaceX contract is a perpetual futures position, which means traders can take long or short positions on SpaceX’s implied valuation around the clock. These contracts have no expiry date and do not require position rollovers. All profit and loss are settled in USDC.
Coinbase states that if SpaceX completes an IPO, open positions will automatically convert to a standard SpaceX perpetual contract, so holders will not need to take additional action.
The product is offered through Coinbase Bermuda Ltd., which holds a Class F license from the Bermuda Monetary Authority. It is explicitly unavailable to U.S. citizens.
In its legal disclosures, Coinbase warned that these contracts carry elevated risk compared with standard perpetuals. The company cited a valuation-based index pricing mechanism, IPO conversion risk, lower liquidity, and higher volatility as specific concerns.
“Only trade what you understand,” the company wrote.
Coinbase described SpaceX as “just the first” in a planned pipeline of pre-IPO perpetual futures spanning technology, AI, energy, and space sectors.
This Market Already Exists, With a Track Record
Pre-IPO perpetual markets for SpaceX are not new to the crypto ecosystem. Platforms leveraging Hyperliquid-style infrastructure, such as Trade.xyz, have offered similar products for some time.
When Trade.xyz introduced its SPCX product, it contributed to a rally in the HYPE token, pushing it close to prior highs. That token has since reached a new all-time high and moved into the top 10 by market capitalization.
Another provider, Ventuals, attracted attention when its SPACEX-USDH market experienced a flash crash, falling roughly 45% from about $2,200 to near $1,200 within a short period and liquidating more than $1.5 million in leveraged positions. The incident highlighted how fragile these markets can be under stressed conditions.
The platform attributed the crash to incorrect data from an off-chain price oracle and confirmed it would compensate affected users.