Author: Chloe, ChainCatcher
The most significant aspect of SpaceX's IPO is not that a "rocket company is finally going public," but rather that it is bringing U.S. stocks, AI, cryptocurrencies, and passive fund flows to the same table.
According to reports, SpaceX (SPCX.O) had an opening indication price of $172 on its U.S. stock market IPO debut. Its IPO issue price was $135 per share. This round of fundraising raised approximately $75 billion, with a valuation of about $1.77 trillion, nearly three times the size of Saudi Aramco's 2019 IPO, making it what the market calls the "largest IPO in history."
Before the market opened on June 12, the three major U.S. stock index futures rose, with SpaceX seen as one of the most important events of the day. Pre-market quote guidance suggested SPCX might open between $170 and $175, about 26% to 30% higher than the IPO price of $135. This indicates that the U.S. market, in the short term, views SpaceX as a super growth stock with "AI + space + Musk premium," rather than just an aerospace manufacturing company.
Bitcoin itself did not surge due to SpaceX's IPO. The Wall Street Journal reported that before the listing, Bitcoin was stable around $63,300. However, the crypto derivatives market "speculated on SpaceX" ahead of time. SpaceX pre-IPO perpetual futures on Hyperliquid pointed to an opening price of around $175, with a 24-hour trading volume exceeding $200 million. This means that while spot Bitcoin remained calm, on-chain/crypto traders treated SpaceX as the next high-beta narrative target.
Large-scale Funds Are Adjusting Portfolios for Allocation
Is a $75 billion IPO the largest liquidity drain in history? The answer is: if you look only at the IPO primary market, it almost certainly is. $75 billion means funds that could have stayed in stocks, ETFs, money market funds, crypto assets, or other tech stocks are being redirected to a single new stock. More crucially, reports indicate subscription demand for SpaceX reached three to four times oversubscription, with potential demand exceeding $2.5 trillion. This suggests the market isn't just "losing $75 billion," but that an even larger amount of capital is being repositioned in anticipation of securing shares.
This liquidity drain may not immediately cause a U.S. stock market decline, as it could also bring a wealth effect: IPO winners profiting on the opening, expected buying from index funds, and retail investors chasing the new narrative could amplify risk appetite in the short term. However, the medium-term risk lies in SpaceX's potential rapid inclusion in major indices. Retirement accounts, passive ETFs, and model portfolios would be forced to increase holdings, further concentrating ordinary investors' asset allocations toward the AI/tech giant narrative. A Guardian commentary also noted that the SpaceX IPO and subsequent waves of AI IPOs could tie American investors' financial futures more deeply to AI assets.
The best historical parallel here is Coinbase's 2021 listing. Coinbase went public via direct listing on April 14, 2021, opening at $381 with a fully diluted valuation of approximately $102 billion. On the same day, Bitcoin hit its then-all-time high of around $64,800. However, this "coming-of-age moment for crypto finance entering mainstream capital markets" later turned into a short-term topping signal: by May 19, 2021, Bitcoin fell to around $30,000, nearly halving from its peak. Strictly speaking, the period from April 14 to May 19 was about five weeks, not quite six, but the general direction of "falling nearly 50% about five to six weeks post-listing" holds.
So, saying SpaceX might follow in Coinbase's footsteps does not mean Bitcoin is destined to crash the moment SpaceX goes public. Instead, it means that when a representative company in an industry enters the public market with an extremely high valuation, it often signifies that the narrative has been priced to its maximum potential. Coinbase was the "crypto exchange listing as the coming-of-age ceremony for the crypto bull market," while SpaceX appears to be the "coming-of-age ceremony for the AI, space, and Musk ecosystem." Coming-of-age ceremonies are lively, but they don't guarantee there won't be a hangover afterwards.
SpaceX Holding Bitcoin Could Be Another Milestone in Institutional Adoption
On the flip side, Bitcoin is not entirely on the side being drained of capital this time. According to The Wall Street Journal and Business Insider citing SpaceX's S-1 document, SpaceX's balance sheet holds approximately 18,712 Bitcoins with a cost basis of around $661 million. Based on prices around $63,300, the market value is close to $1.2 billion. This serves as an endorsement for the Bitcoin narrative: Bitcoin is no longer just an asset held by exchanges, miners, or crypto-native companies like Strategy, but appears on the balance sheet of the world's most watched tech/aerospace giant.
However, it's important to distinguish between this endorsement's "symbolic value" and its "financial weight." $1.2 billion worth of Bitcoin constitutes only about 0.07% of SpaceX's approximate $1.77 trillion valuation. While it can strengthen Bitcoin's image as a corporate treasury asset, it's not substantial enough to be a core pillar supporting SpaceX's valuation. Moreover, research is divided on this topic: some studies suggest institutional adoption and ETFs increase Bitcoin's correlation with U.S. stock indices, weakening its traditional role as a diversifier.
According to a 2026 on-chain investment portfolio study, crypto investment returns are more determined by entry timing than by the allocation model itself. Therefore, SpaceX's IPO is a double-edged sword for Bitcoin. On one hand, a $75 billion IPO could act as a liquidity drain on risk assets, diverting some funds from the crypto market towards more mainstream, liquid AI/space stocks. On the other hand, SpaceX holding 18,712 BTC provides Bitcoin with another institutional balance sheet endorsement.
In conclusion, the SpaceX IPO is, in the short term, more of a "competition for capital" for the crypto market, and in the medium to long term, more of a "narrative endorsement" for Bitcoin. If SPCX surges after the listing, the market will interpret it as capital flowing away from cryptocurrencies towards AI + space stocks. However, if more non-crypto companies start putting BTC on their balance sheets in the future, SpaceX's 18,712 Bitcoin holdings may be looked back upon as another milestone in institutional adoption. This is the fascinating part: the same IPO can be both a liquidity drain and a stamp of approval.
