Race SpaceX IPO! Coinbase (COIN.US) launches perpetual futures for pre-IPO companies, limited to qualified investors outside the United States.

As SpaceX's largest IPO in history enters the final countdown, global cryptocurrency exchange platform Coinbase (COIN.US) announced the launch of perpetual futures contracts tied to SpaceX, allowing eligible non-US investors to participate in trading before the company officially goes public. Coinbase stated that this is the first product in a series of perpetual futures contracts for pre-IPO companies that the company plans to launch, and it will expand to include popular unicorn companies in various fields such as technology, artificial intelligence, energy, and aerospace in the future. According to the introduction, SpaceX perpetual futures contracts for pre-IPO companies are priced in the stablecoin USDC and traded in derivative form, without involving any equity ownership, voting rights, or actual ownership of shares. Unlike traditional pre-IPO equity investments, investors do not need to open a securities account to participate in trading. This product has no expiration date, supports 24-hour trading, and investors can establish or close positions at any time. It is reported that this contract supports up to 5 times leverage. Liz Martin, head of Coinbase's derivatives business, stated that in the current market environment, investors' demand for high-growth, low-correlation investment opportunities is increasing. She said, "We have built the most trusted crypto asset trading platform in the industry and now hope to use the same infrastructure to allow investors to gain price exposure to these globally most-watched private companies before they go public." Coinbase stated that after SpaceX completes its IPO, the perpetual futures positions held by investors for pre-IPO companies will automatically convert to standard SpaceX perpetual futures without the need for any additional action by the user. Related products will be provided through Coinbase Bermuda, which is licensed by the Bermuda Monetary Authority and is not open to US investors. In fact, Coinbase is not the first platform to launch a similar product. It was reported that Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, also launched pre-IPO perpetual futures contracts related to SpaceX last month. With more and more highly valued tech unicorns staying in the private market for a long time, new financial products revolving around pre-IPO company price discovery are attracting more attention. Earlier this week, SpaceX officially disclosed its IPO terms. According to the prospectus, the company plans to issue approximately 556 million shares of Class A common stock at a price of $135 per share, with an expected financing size of nearly $75 billion, corresponding to a valuation of about $1.75 trillion. If the offering is completed under the above conditions, SpaceX will surpass Saudi Aramco's record-breaking $29.4 billion financing in 2019, becoming the largest IPO in global history in terms of financing size. The company is set to list on NASDAQ on June 12, with the stock symbol "SPCX." SpaceX's listing is not only one of the most anticipated tech IPOs in recent years, but also a significant event that could test the capital markets' valuation system for super-sized private tech companies. According to CoinGecko data, perpetual futures account for over 70% of the total trading volume on global centralized cryptocurrency exchanges, making it the most mainstream derivative tool in the crypto market. However, Coinbase also reminds investors that the risks of pre-IPO perpetual futures are significantly higher than traditional perpetual contracts. Due to the fact that the target company has not yet gone public, these products may face issues such as lower liquidity, greater price volatility, and higher risks of forced liquidation.