MarketsShareShare this articleCopy linkX (Twitter)LinkedInFacebookEmail Are retail traders selling their bitcoin to buy the SpaceX IPO?
Recent data on exchange flows and stablecoin activity indicates that there is no significant movement of funds from crypto to cash amid this week's market downturn. Major trading platforms like Robinhood and Coinbase will not disclose their trading figures until July.
By Shaurya Malwa Jun 6, 2026, 9:45 a.m. 3 min readMake preferred on
Key points:
- SpaceX is planning a $75 billion IPO, which values the company at approximately $1.8 trillion, and is allocating up to 30% of its shares to retail investors through platforms such as Robinhood, Fidelity, and Charles Schwab.
- Despite speculation online that retail crypto investors might be liquidating their bitcoin to invest in the SpaceX IPO, stablecoin transactions and blockchain data do not exhibit any unusual cash-out patterns from the crypto market.
- The primary source of outflows from the crypto market has been from spot bitcoin and ether ETFs, which experienced record redemptions totaling around $4.4 billion before seeing a slight return of inflows.
There has been some online discussion suggesting that retail investors could be selling their cryptocurrencies to participate in the largest IPO in history.
SpaceX, owned by Elon Musk and involved in rockets, satellites, and AI, is directing a significant portion of its record $75 billion offering to retail investors, which is notably higher than the typical allocation for individual investors in an IPO.
Reports indicate that the IPO has already attracted more orders than available shares, with Bloomberg noting the roadshow's oversubscription. The IPO is priced at a valuation of $1.8 trillion.
Bitcoin's value dropped by approximately 16% during the same period, briefly dipping below $60,000 before recovering to around $61,000, based on CoinDesk data.
Tracking stablecoin activity provides a direct insight into the movement of funds from crypto to fiat. When a trader converts bitcoin to fund a brokerage account, they typically use a dollar-pegged stablecoin like USDC or tether, which is then redeemed for cash. Two indicators reflect this: stablecoins being withdrawn from exchanges and a decrease in supply when the tokens are burned by issuers.
However, neither of these indicators show any significant changes, as data from CoinDesk indicates that outflows for USDC and tether have remained consistent since February. The largest single-day outflows recently were $2.5 billion in USDC on May 22 and $3.6 billion in tether on May 20, both occurring prior to the recent market decline.
On Friday, there were substantial withdrawals of bitcoin and ether, with 66,470 bitcoin and approximately 2.49 million ether exiting exchanges, marking some of the highest single-day figures of the year according to CryptoQuant.
Outflows refer to assets moving from exchanges to private wallets, which is the action taken by a buyer upon receiving their assets. In contrast, selling involves moving assets onto exchanges for sale. The primary flows observed this week suggest withdrawal and dip-buying trends rather than a rush to liquidate for cash.
Notably, the only clear outflow of funds from the crypto market has been toward the ETFs.
Spot bitcoin ETFs, which directly hold bitcoin, experienced a record outflow for 13 consecutive sessions totaling about $4.4 billion before a minor inflow of $3 million interrupted the streak, as reported earlier.
Ether ETFs faced an even longer outflow streak of 17 sessions that ended concurrently. When investors withdraw from these funds, the issuer sells the corresponding underlying coins, indicating actual selling activity.
SpaceX is set to price its shares on June 11 and will debut on the Nasdaq with the ticker SPCX the following day.
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By Shaurya Malwa2 hours agoArthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX and head of family office Maelstrom, stated he sold the firm’s entire Worldcoin stake on Friday, shortly after indicating he would retain the token.
What to know:
- Hayes attributed his decision to a sharp decline in pre-listing prices for SpaceX shares, which are set to begin trading on June 12.