SPCX flips Solana in Hyperliquid volume as SpaceX perps hit $1.2B

SPCX, the tokenized SpaceX asset, surpassed Solana in Hyperliquid trading volume on June 16, with more than $1.2 billion in perpetual futures changing hands.

"Where there's opportunity for liquidity, savvy people will find ways to get it," David Schamis, founding partner at Atlas Merchant Capital and CEO of Hyperliquid Strategies, said.

More than 7 million SpaceX perps traded on Hyperliquid on Friday, exchange data compiled by CNBC show. The perp market accurately anticipated the IPO price, with traders buying and selling futures as high as $180 and as low as $153 before the first trade came in at $150. SpaceX stock closed its debut session at $160.95, giving the company a market capitalization above $2.1 trillion.

The milestone reflects Hyperliquid's broader expansion beyond crypto. The platform's total open interest recently exceeded $10 billion, with about $4 billion tied to HIP-3 builder-deployed markets covering equities, commodities and indexes, according to digital asset infrastructure provider Talos. Nearly half of S&P 500 perpetual volume and more than 60% of oil perpetual volume occurred outside traditional US market hours.

The SpaceX perp listing on Hyperliquid gave traders a form of early access to one of the most anticipated IPOs in history. SpaceX priced its IPO at $135 on June 12, raising about $75 billion in the largest listing ever. The stock rose as high as $176.52 before closing at $160.95.

Hyperliquid's own tradeable token has gained more than 150% this year, according to CoinMarketCap data. The platform generated more than $15.6 million in fees during the past week, making it the third-largest protocol by weekly fees behind stablecoin issuers Tether and Circle, DefiLlama data show.

The success of tokenized equity perps has drawn attention from traditional finance. Jeffrey Sprecher, CEO of Intercontinental Exchange, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, urged regulators in May to create a "level playing field" for launching 24/7 onchain perpetual futures contracts, citing Hyperliquid as an example of a crypto-native platform enabling around-the-clock derivatives trading.

On Hyperliquid, smart money has positioned for a pullback. Nansen data shows the cohort is net short $20.8 million on SpaceX perps, with 91% of its exposure short. Whales are net short $23.7 million, combining for a $45.3 million net short bet built from the IPO near $167 through the climb to $208.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.