Crypto trading platform operator Kraken, which is continuing to add products outside of its core digital asset offering, has announced that it has listed a pre-IPO perpetual on SPCX (Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or “SpaceX”), so you can go long or short on SpaceX exposure before it goes public. The Kraken SPCX perp allows eligible clients to trade with up to 5x leverage and multi-collateral (flex) margin, with no expiry.

Kraken said that the SPCX perp is not available in the US, EEA, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand.

Pricing uses a purpose-built Kraken PreMarket Synthetic index that is smoothed and tightly bounded, designed to resist flash liquidations in a thin, early market.

If and when SpaceX completes an IPO, Kraken intends to convert the contract to standard tokenized-equity-style pricing, and contract specifications are expected to change. SpaceX is expected to finalize its IP and “go public” this week, at an estimated valuation of $1.77 trillion.

What is the SPCX pre-IPO perpetual?

SpaceX is one of the most valuable private companies in the world, but its shares are not yet publicly traded. The SPCX pre-IPO perpetual (PF_SPCXXUSD) is a cash-settled perpetual contract that lets you express a view on SpaceX’s value today, without waiting for an IPO:

• Go long if you expect SpaceX’s valuation to rise into and beyond a public debut.
• Go short to hedge or take the other side.
• No expiry, so you can hold for as long as you like, subject to margin.
• Multi-collateral margin, so the contract is settled and margined in Kraken’s flex account and a wide range of assets can back your position.

How Kraken prices a company that isn’t public yet

Because there is no public SpaceX stock and no external index, Kraken prices this contract with a purpose-built pre-IPO pricing engine:

• Synthetic index: The Kraken PreMarket Synthetic index derives the reference price from the contract’s own market, rather than from an external feed that does not yet exist.
• Smoothing: The index is exponentially smoothed, so short-lived spikes in a thin order book have little effect on it. Price discovery is intentionally measured.
• Mark-price clamp: The contract’s mark price is held to within ±0.25% of the synthetic index at all times. Even on a thin book, that band is designed to stop momentary spikes from forcing liquidations: a brief shock moves the mark only fractionally, while a sustained move is followed in an orderly way over minutes rather than seconds.

How a pre-IPO perp differs from a standard Kraken perpetual

• Pricing source: A synthetic, smoothed, and clamped index, rather than an external spot index.
• Funding: Structurally small during the pre-IPO phase, because the mark is held close to the index by the ±0.25% band. A standard perpetual instead tracks an external spot price.
• Liquidity: Early markets may be thin, and spreads can be wider than on mature contracts. The smoothing and clamp design exists to keep that early phase orderly.
• Conversion at IPO: Specifications are expected to change if and when SpaceX goes public.

What happens when SpaceX goes public?

When SpaceX completes its IPO, Kraken intends to transition PF_SPCXXUSD pricing from the synthetic index to the SpaceX xStocks tokenized equity spot index with normal funding. Contract specifications, including initial margin, maintenance margin, position limits, and funding, are expected to change at that point. Kraken will share the full conversion details and timing ahead of any changes.