Crypto platforms had aimed to offer early access to the highly anticipated SpaceX IPO via tokenized shares, but the real issue lay in securing the actual stock.
By Krisztian Sandor|Edited by Shaurya Malwa Jun 13, 2026, 5:16 a.m. 3 min readMake preferred on ShareShare this articleCopy linkX (Twitter)LinkedInFacebookEmailMake preferred on SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk (Getty Images)SummaryShow- Binance Wallet, Bybit, and Bitget terminated their SpaceX pre-IPO offerings after failing to obtain shares via xStocks.
- The challenge stemmed not from tokenization but from securing the actual asset, according to industry experts.
- SpaceX's IPO experienced an overwhelming demand from retail investors, leading to many orders being either partially filled or unfulfilled.
The competition to participate in the SpaceX IPO left many crypto investors without access.
On Friday, Binance Wallet, Bybit, and Bitget announced the cancellation of their pre-IPO offerings for SpaceX and refunded their customers after being unable to secure shares that were marketed through xStocks, Kraken's tokenized equities service. These platforms had promoted the offering as a means for retail investors to tap into one of the most coveted IPOs in recent memory through tokenized shares.
“Due to xStocks’ inability to deliver the underlying assets, no SpaceX allocations were received,” Bybit informed its users.
At first glance, this situation may seem like a failure of the tokenization process. However, industry insiders assert that the real issue was simpler: the challenge of accessing the fundamental asset.
Overwhelming Demand and Limited Shares
Acquiring SpaceX shares was always going to be a challenge.
The company aimed to raise $75 billion, initially reserving 30% of the offering for retail investors. However, demand quickly outstripped that allocation. Bloomberg reported that retail orders surpassed $100 billion, while CNBC noted that the retail portion was reduced to the low-20% range prior to pricing.
According to a source familiar with the situation, xStocks and its distribution partners amassed over $1 billion in customer orders. However, many of those requests went unfulfilled when underwriters finalized the allocations.
Binance, Bybit, and Bitget received no shares and subsequently canceled their offerings. In contrast, customers of Kraken and xStocks only received a small fraction of their requested allocations.
This shortfall was not exclusive to crypto platforms. Data from Access IPOs indicated that some retail investors at traditional brokerages also received only a limited number of shares they had requested.
An xStocks representative stated that "overwhelming demand" hindered the fulfillment of all orders, and funds related to unfulfilled subscriptions were returned.
The tokenized SpaceX stock, trading under the ticker SPCXx, launched after the IPO, with approximately $24 million worth of tokenized shares reported to be circulating on-chain at the time of this publication, according to data from Arkham. Ondo Finance and Dinari, which did not provide pre-IPO access, also introduced tokenized SpaceX products following the company's market debut.
Key Takeaway for Tokenized Assets
This incident highlights an important lesson for tokenized assets: creating a token is straightforward, but obtaining the actual asset behind it is crucial.
“What appears to have gone wrong… is that demand significantly exceeded the available supply of underlying shares,” a Dinari spokesperson remarked. "If the underlying stock cannot be sourced, allocated, and held within the necessary regulatory framework, there is ultimately no asset to tokenize."
In this case, SpaceX's retail allocations were reduced, demand surged, and there weren’t sufficient shares available to meet all orders.
The outcome serves as a reminder that tokenized assets are still dependent on the markets that underlie them. As one industry participant expressed to CoinDesk, the issue was more about "overpromising and underdelivering" than a failure of the technology itself.
"Blockchain infrastructure functioned as intended," stated Olivia Vande Woude, head of tokenization business development at Ava Labs, in an X post. "What faltered was something older and more mundane: the process of actually sourcing the shares."
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