SpaceX’s market debut gave stock investors shares while crypto traders gained only derivative exposure through perpetual futures that tracked, but did not confer ownership of, the company.
Baron Capital added about $1 billion to its SpaceX position, lifting its total holdings to roughly $25 billion, while SpaceX’s market debut also drew heavy crypto trading in perpetual futures tied to the stock. SpaceX was listed at $150, rose as high as $176.52 and finished at $160.95 after an initial trading period that valued the company at more than $2.1 trillion, with close to 500 million shares traded. Hyperliquid and Binance offered perpetual futures linked to SpaceX before Wall Street opened, and Hyperliquid alone recorded more than 7 million SpaceX-related perp trades worth over $1.2 billion on Friday. Ron Baron said the additional purchase was meant to prevent dilution as new shares were issued, underscoring the gap between owning stock and taking derivative price exposure. Baron Capital first invested in SpaceX in 2017, when the company was valued at less than $22 billion, and has since participated in 27 capital-raising events.