SpaceX IPO fuels meme-stock trading, $2T valuation

SpaceX shares rose sharply in the first week after the company’s record initial public offering as a small public float concentrated buying demand. The IPO sold 555.6 million shares for about $75 billion and later expanded to 638.9 million shares after underwriters exercised their overallotment option, bringing proceeds to about $85.7 billion. The company has roughly 13 billion shares outstanding, so only a small portion of equity entered public trading; insiders retain control and lockup agreements limit near-term supply.

Traders pushed the stock well above its $135 IPO price in the opening days, with intraday moves often in double digits. The limited tradeable supply attracted retail buyers, index-linked funds and momentum traders. Thierry Borgeat, co-founder of Arvy, characterized the setup as “an exceptionally tight supply setup for a company of SpaceX’s scale.” Television commentator Jim Cramer commented that the stock had “no sellers,” a condition that supported rapid price moves.

The equity rally carried into crypto markets through SPCX-linked perpetual futures, which trade around the clock and allow leverage. Over a recent 24-hour period, futures volume rose roughly 500% to nearly $9 billion and open interest climbed to about $813 million, indicating elevated capital committed to the contracts. SPCX futures prices moved sharply and volatility triggered more than $30 million in liquidations in a single day, with roughly $19 million from short positions and about $12 million from long positions.

Crypto analyst Colin Talks Crypto compared the pattern to a token release with tight supply and cautioned that a restricted float can drive sharp early gains while later share unlocks could create sell pressure. The interaction between a thin equity float and leveraged perpetuals produced a feedback loop: rising share prices drew more futures traders, forced liquidations reduced short exposure and added buying pressure, and that buying pushed prices higher.

SpaceX announced an agreement to acquire Anysphere, the developer of the AI coding tool Cursor, in an all-stock transaction valued at $60 billion, expected to close in the third quarter of 2026. The company said the deal is intended to support work on larger AI models and integrate Cursor into its products. Quinn Thompson, chief investment officer at Lekker Capital, described the transaction as a way to use the elevated market price to acquire businesses before lockup expirations.

Market data show SpaceX’s market value rose above $3 trillion in early trading, placing it near or ahead of several large technology firms on a nominal basis while the company still reports losses. Charlie Bilello, chief market strategist at Creative Planning, noted the high valuation and observed investors appear to be pricing future outcomes into the stock today. Henrik Zeberg, a macro strategist, characterized the trading behavior as resembling late-stage speculative positioning and warned that many investors could lose money if market conditions change.

Analysts and market participants point to a set of structural factors that have influenced price moves: a very small public float, concentrated insider ownership, lockup schedules that restrict near-term supply and heavy leverage in perpetual-futures markets. Those factors could affect price dynamics if locked-up shares enter the market, growth expectations shift or volatility changes.