Major crypto platforms cancel tokenized SpaceX IPO

On Friday, Bybit, Binance, Bitget Wallet and MEXC canceled tokenized allocations linked to SpaceX’s Nasdaq IPO and announced plans to refund subscribers after reporting that Kraken-owned xStocks did not deliver the SPCX tokens needed to settle subscriptions.

Bybit, which had offered access through a product called Bybit IPO Express, announced that subscribers will not receive SpaceX allocations because xStocks could not provide the underlying assets. Binance’s tokenized campaign had accepted more than $557 million in USDC but did not proceed, the company noted in a statement citing circumstances outside its control. Binance Wallet, Bitget Wallet and MEXC also relied on xStocks and confirmed refunds for affected customers.

SpaceX began trading on the Nasdaq on Friday. The IPO price was $135, the stock opened at $150 and closed the day at $161.11. The offering was reported as more than four times oversubscribed and raised about $75 billion, valuing the company above $2 trillion at the close.

Tokenized IPO campaigns allow exchanges and wallet providers to sell blockchain tokens that represent a claim on shares or an entitlement to receive allocations if the issuer secures them. In this case xStocks issued SPCX tokens intended to represent SpaceX allocations. The platforms depended on xStocks to obtain the actual allocations or entitlements and to deliver them when the IPO settled; according to the platforms, that delivery did not occur.

Exchanges and wallets said they will refund customers in the stablecoin or fiat used to subscribe. None of the platforms specified when all refunds would be completed or whether customers would receive additional compensation for any delay.

In a post on X, Bitget Wallet chief operating officer Alvin Kan wrote, ‘It’s disappointing that this didn’t work out in the end. We are in the process of sending out the refunds.’ He added that the incident had dented trust in the industry but expressed confidence in recovery.

The cancellations affected retail access to the IPO through tokenized claims and left platforms unable to finalize the allocations their customers had purchased.