According to Cointelegraph, crypto exchange Coinbase has officially launched its pre-IPO contract market, starting with Elon Musk's private space company SpaceX. The product offers non-US users perpetual futures contracts that track the valuation of private companies. This move signals an acceleration of crypto platforms into traditional private equity territory, as competition in crypto derivatives intensifies.
A pre-IPO perpetual is an innovative derivative that allows traders to speculate on a private company's valuation without holding the underlying equity. These contracts have no expiry and are settled in margin currencies such as stablecoins, with prices pegged to the derivative market price of the asset. By listing a high-profile name like SpaceX, Coinbase aims to attract users interested in the intersection of crypto and tech. Following the FTX collapse and a reshaped market landscape, other exchanges are exploring similar products, and interest in tokenizing private markets continues to grow.