Forbes: Hyperliquid Launches SpaceX Evergreen Contract, Sparking Regulatory Grey Area Dispute

On May 27, decentralized derivatives platform Hyperliquid launched a SpaceX pre-IPO perpetual contract (SPCX-USDC) on Trade.xyz, triggering global controversy over its placement in a regulatory gray area. The contract allows leveraged trading without requiring users to hold any SpaceX stock or obtain official authorization from the company itself. It debuted at an initial price of $150, translating to an implied valuation of roughly $1.78 trillion, and spiked to $216 shortly after launch. The contract settles in USDC, with its price pulled from a market oracle and not linked to SpaceX’s actual financials or equity structure. Notably, SpaceX has neither endorsed nor participated in this market, yet its valuation is now being actively priced and traded on-chain—fueling debate over whether private company price discovery is being overtaken by decentralized derivatives. Originating from Hyperliquid’s HIP-3 mechanism, this market illustrates a potential shift toward on-chain repricing of private company valuations via derivatives, an area where no formal regulatory framework has been established, per a Forbes report.