SpaceX IPO Reveals Bitcoin Hoard as Traders Eye May Options Expiry

SpaceX grabbed the crypto world's attention on May 20 after filing its S-1 registration statement with the SEC ahead of a planned Nasdaq debut next month. The filing disclosed that the rocket and satellite company held 18,712 BTC on its balance sheet as of March 31, with a fair value of $1.29B , far more than the roughly 8,285 BTC that on-chain trackers had previously estimated. At an average cost basis of about $35,000 per coin, the position puts SpaceX among the top corporate Bitcoin holders globally, surpassing Coinbase's reported 16,492 BTC and holding more than Tesla's 11,509 BTC.

SpaceX is targeting a valuation of $1.5T to $2T for the offering, which traders on Polymarket are pricing at more than a 70% chance of closing above $2T. Analysts have flagged a risk that simultaneous IPO debuts from SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic could rotate capital away from crypto and other risk assets. The disclosure nevertheless reinforces a growing narrative of large technology companies treating Bitcoin as a meaningful balance-sheet asset rather than a speculative side bet.

Derivatives Markets Brace for $6B Bitcoin Options Expiry

While the IPO news dominated headlines, derivatives traders were sizing up a separate catalyst: a $6.25B Bitcoin options expiry on Deribit scheduled for May 29. Deribit's Bitcoin open interest has overtaken BlackRock's IBIT, with 80,535 contracts set to settle. The $75,000 strike holds the largest put concentration at $394M in notional value, while the $80,000 call strike leads the upside at $532M, putting the so-called max pain level at $75,000 well below current prices.

Binance added further momentum to the SpaceX story by launching Pre-IPO Perpetual Contracts tied to the company's anticipated Nasdaq valuation. The contracts, margined and settled in USDT, are designed to give retail traders early exposure to high-profile IPOs, a market segment historically reserved for institutional investors and venture capital firms. The first listing, SPCXUSDT, is based on SpaceX's expected market valuation and will transition to reflect live share performance once the stock begins trading. Meanwhile, Bitcoin was trading near $77,000 on Thursday morning, with the total crypto market cap sitting at approximately $2.66T and BTC dominance holding at around 58%.