Authors: Changan, Amelia, Denise | Biteye Content Team
"I regret that I didn't develop the awareness of investing in pre-IPO private equity last year."
A recent post by 0xsun (@0xSunNFT) has sparked heated discussion. In the post, he lamented that if one could have invested in Anthropic (below 200B) or Polymarket (below 5B) last year, the value would be more than three times the current secondary market price.
This year is considered the strongest IPO supercycle in history, with SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic all on the verge of going public. SpaceX alone has a target valuation of $1.75 trillion. (Related reading: Crypto exchanges rush to acquire pre-IPO assets: SpaceX equity can now be bought with stablecoins )
Market enthusiasm for pre-IPOs has reached unprecedented levels, prompting exchanges to launch various products that allow retail investors to participate: Binance Wallet integrated PreStocks, Bitget launched IPO Prime, Gate launched a subscription campaign, Hyperliquid launched HIP 3…
However, the underlying logic behind these prosperity varies greatly. This article will break down these products to help you identify which are genuine equity investments and which are simply price mirroring.
🌟Core Foundations: IPO, SPV, and the Logic of Rights Confirmation
In traditional finance, pre-IPO financing is an exclusive game for institutions and high-net-worth individuals: qualified investors hold actual equity in unlisted companies through rigorously screened channels in the form of special purpose vehicles (SPVs), waiting for the IPO to realize profits. The threshold is extremely high, the process is extremely complicated, and ordinary people basically have no chance to participate.
Here we must first understand a concept: SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle).
For example, if you want to buy SpaceX equity, but SpaceX won't sell shares directly to you as an individual, a special purpose vehicle (SPV) is set up. The SPV holds SpaceX shares, and you then hold shares in the SPV. The complex private equity transaction is simplified into a single, workable structure.
This is why almost all legitimate pre-IPO investments involve SPVs. However, an SPV is merely a holding device; it doesn't mean you've bought actual equity or that you necessarily have shareholder rights. The truly important questions are: Does this SPV actually hold real assets? Is the issuer trustworthy? Is the structure transparent?
This is precisely the biggest difference among various Pre-IPO products currently on the market.
Currently, products on the market can be divided into three categories:
Actual shareholding: The SPV actually holds the equity, and you hold the economic rights.
Synthetic notes: "IOUs" issued by the platform, offset by the platform, and have no direct legal relationship with real equity.
On-chain contracts: Pure price speculation, without involving any physical goods.
These three types of products have completely different risk structures, cost structures, and target audiences. Next, we will break down the mainstream participation methods in the market one by one.
🌟In-depth review of six major cryptocurrency platforms
1️⃣ Binance Wallet @BinanceWallet (XHunt ranking 775)
Schema: SPV Mapping | Issuer: PreStocks
On April 10, Binance Wallet launched a Pre-IPO zone in its Markets section. The underlying issuer is the PreStocks platform on the Solana blockchain. Currently, it has listed about 7 projects, including SpaceX, OpenAI, Anthropic, Anduril, Kalshi, Polymarket, and xAI.
💡 True Equity: Indirectly holding true equity. You hold an SPV position issued by PreStocks, which is backed by actual shares of the corresponding company. You have no voting rights, dividend rights, or information rights.
💰 Fee Structure: The main costs are reflected in the bid-ask spread and market maker spread, with no additional management fees or channel fees, resulting in a relatively clean overall fee structure. No complicated account opening process required. Minimum purchase of 0.01 tokens.
SpaceX data: Current price $715, liquidity $1.24M, total trading volume $191.94M
🔧Operational advice: Enter directly through Wallet's Markets section, prioritizing top-performing stocks with good liquidity such as OpenAI and SpaceX, and avoiding less popular projects.
✅Advantages: Leveraging the user base of Binance Wallet, it provides a liquidity entry point.
2️⃣ Bitget @bitget (XHunt ranking: 1999)
Mode: Composite Image | Publisher: Republic
Bitget, in partnership with Republic, launched a SpaceX pre-IPO subscription campaign, marking the debut of its IPO Prime platform. Republic, a US-based SEC/FINRA-licensed crowdfunding website, has shareholders including Valor Equity Partners (early investors in Tesla and SpaceX), Morgan Stanley, and Avalanche. It is one of the most compliant issuers on the market, and Bitget's exclusive partnership with Republic in this SpaceX pre-IPO program ensures it has real underlying assets. This issuer has also completed pre-IPOs for well-known companies such as Neuralink, Kraken, Stripe, and Revolut.
The subscription period is from April 18th to April 21st, with a total supply of 94,000 preSPAX tokens. The fixed subscription price is $650 per token, and the total fundraising scale is approximately $61.1 million. The minimum investment is $100 USDT, and the allocation is based on VIP registration.
💡 True Equity: preSPAX are unsecured or redeemable notes issued by RepublicX LLC, pegged to the underlying asset's reference price. They have no voting rights, dividend rights, or information rights.
💰 Fee Structure: There are no additional management fees during the holding period; the bid-ask spread and funding costs are ongoing costs.
🔧Operational Recommendation: The subscription price of $650 represents a significant discount compared to off-exchange offers. If you can secure a subscription quota, the short-term arbitrage potential is considerable. Reservation Link: https://www.bitget.com/activity-hub/spacex-pre-ipo
✅Advantages: Lower price, higher compliance; subscription completed on the 21st, tokens issued at 6 pm that day, and available for off-exchange trading at 8 pm that evening.
3️⃣Gate @Gate (XHunt ranking: 1686)
Pattern: Composite Image | Gaining SpaceX Stock Hedging Exposure in the Market
Gate officially launched SpaceX Pre-IPO subscription on April 15th. The platform's digital subscription mechanism allows users to subscribe directly with stablecoins without complicated procedures.
💡 True Equity: SPCX is a mirror note and does not represent actual SpaceX stock or shares.
💰 Fee Structure: No hidden fees or escrow fees, 100% unlocked distribution.
Minimum investment: 100 USDT or 100 GUSD, maximum investment per person: 339 SPCX, with limits linked to VIP level. SpaceX subscription price: $590.
🔧Operation Suggestion: The subscription price of $590 is currently the lowest online. You can participate with a small position to try and get a discount. Reservation Link: https://www.gate.com/zh/ipos
✅Advantage: Lowest subscription price online.
4️⃣ Hyperliquid @HyperliquidX (XHunt ranking: 194) HIP-3
Model: DeFi protocol, SPV pure derivatives
Hyperliquid itself does not issue any pre-IPO products; the contracts actually deployed on it are handled by the third-party project Ventuals. Ventuals is built on Hyperliquid's HIP-3 standard, and currently has three contracts (pSPACEX, pOPENAI, and pANTHRO) online on its mainnet.
In terms of pricing mechanism, the contract adopts a hybrid oracle model: each price update = one-third of the latest secondary market transaction price or financing round valuation + two-thirds of the "on-chain 2-hour exponential moving average price". The purpose of this hybrid mechanism is to prevent the price from deviating too far from the fundamentals, while preserving the real space for on-chain price discovery.
💡 Real Equity: This has nothing to do with real equity; it provides on-chain perpetual contracts for unlisted companies.
💰 Fee Structure: Under HIP-3 Growth Mode, the overall taker rate drops from the standard 0.045% to 0.0045%-0.009%, and can be further reduced to 0.00144%-0.00288% at the highest staking and trading volume levels. However, the real cost of holding a position comes from the funding rate, and the cost of holding it for a long time is not low.
Minimum entry threshold: In theory, there is no minimum limit and you can open a position at any time, but the margin requirements for leveraged contracts determine the actual cost of participation.
SpaceX: Current price: $1685, 24-hour trading volume: $5,418, open interest: approximately $2.1 million.
⚠️ Key Risks: This product falls under the category of unregistered derivatives by the CFTC, and its regulatory status is unclear. Furthermore, the arbitrage opportunities for institutional investors are the largest among the six major platforms, resulting in extremely unfavorable profit distribution to retail investors. The risk of liquidation due to high leverage is ever-present, and funding fees continuously deplete the principal.
🔧Trading Advice: Funding rates are a crucial indicator to consider before entering a trade. When long positions are crowded, continuously paying funding fees reflects the true cost of holding a position. Given the current thin liquidity, heavy positions or high leverage are extremely risky; naked long positions are not recommended for retail investors. Link: https://app.hyperliquid.xyz/trade
✅Advantages: Permissionless, supports up to 3x leverage, suitable for professional hedgers.
5️⃣PreStocks@PreStocks (XHunt ranking: 13803)
Model: SPV Mapping | Largest Platform in the On-Chain Pre-IPO Sector
PreStocks was originally called PrePO when it was on the Base chain. After migrating to Solana, its pace accelerated significantly, and it was renamed PreStocks. As of the end of March, it had accumulated over $544 million, with a recent single-day peak exceeding $29 million.
💡 Real Equity: Indirect Holding. The underlying SPV holds real company shares, mapped 1:1 to the tokens. It has no voting rights, dividend rights, or information rights.
💰 Fee Structure: The main costs come from the bid-ask spread and market maker spread, with no additional management fees, resulting in a relatively clean overall fee structure. Less popular assets may have larger spreads.
Minimum entry threshold: Lowest among the six, starting from 0.01 coins, with virtually no financial threshold restrictions.
SpaceX: Current price: $715, liquidity $1.24M, total trading volume $191.94M.
⚠️ Compliance Risk: The underlying SPV holds shares in a real company, with tokens mapped 1:1, and is backed by physical equity. However, the SPV relies on an offshore structure, and its regulatory characterization is unclear.
🔧Operational Recommendations: Prioritize leading projects with relatively high liquidity, such as SpaceX and OpenAI, and avoid less popular projects. Large institutional buyers need to complete a one-time KYC process before minting and redeeming tokens, while smaller holders can buy and sell directly on the Solana blockchain. Link: https://prestocks.com/
6️⃣Jarsy @JarsyInc (XHunt ranking: 17099)
Pattern: Explicitly use the Delaware LLC structure and publicly disclose ownership certificates.
Jarsy is the only platform among the six mentioned that is open to both US and non-US users, and it also has the clearest compliance framework. Currently, the platform has approximately 30 listed projects, covering multiple sectors including AI, aerospace, defense, and fintech, including SpaceX, Anthropic, Perplexity, Cursor, Kalshi, Discord, and Stripe, making it the platform with the broadest coverage among the six.
💡 Real Equity: Each token is backed 1:1 by the corresponding share economic rights held by Jarsy Delaware LLC. All ownership documents, share certificates and transfer certificates are publicly disclosed, and the token supply and transaction records can be independently verified on-chain. Jarsy holds economic rights, not direct shareholder status. In the event of liquidation, Jarsy will sell its shares and return the equivalent amount in US dollars to token holders in proportion to its holdings.
💰 Fee Structure: Jarsy charges two fees: a one-time platform fee of 5% and a carried interest of 5%.
Minimum purchase threshold: 10 JUSD, extremely low threshold.
SpaceX: Current price $857.
Liquidity: No specific transaction data was found on Jarsy, but the largest number of holders for a single token on Jarsy is about 700, and the largest token TVL is about $2.6M (almost no growth compared to February).
🔧Operational Recommendations: Treat Jarsy as a long-term asset allocation tool, not a short-term trading platform. Be prepared that your positions may be difficult to exit quickly. Regularly check the platform's proof-of-reserve page to verify that the tokens are 100% backed by real equity. Link: https://app.jarsy.com/
✅Advantages: The only project on the blockchain following the Delaware LLC ownership confirmation path, and boasting the clearest compliance framework among the six major platforms; it also offers the most investment targets. Although liquidity is relatively low, it's the most reliable "safe haven" if you plan to allocate your assets long-term.
🌟Comparison of Traditional Pre-IPO Plans
Biteye shared their most valuable practical experience in the comments section of @0xsun's post "Do non-US citizens want to buy pre-IPO equity?", and compiled it as follows.
Link: https://x.com/0xSunNFT/status/2022900853821313450?s=20
1. Hiive / Forge Global: The most accessible real-world equity pathway
Hiive and Forge Global are currently the most credible pre-IPO participation channels available to retail investors. They are essentially Web2 secondary market platforms that hold real shares through SPVs, have complete legal documentation, and a clear compliance framework.
Fee structure: Only a one-time fee of 3%-6%, 0 management fee, and 0 carry.
Regarding SPVs, Hiive and Forge prioritize Single Layer, while Double Layer is required for smaller amounts. However, the SPVs of the platforms themselves are highly credible, and there is basically no need to worry about counterparty risks.
After registering, proactively contact customer service and clearly state the target market you are interested in. The platform will proactively send you an email to recommend a suitable offer or directly help you find a source of goods.
The main risks along this path are concentrated on the company itself: IPO delays, valuation reductions, and listing discounts. However, these are risks that genuine investors should bear, not additional risks arising from broken intermediary chains or malicious platform practices.
I recommend starting with Hiive or Forge, and while building relationships, you can also connect with VCs and brokers. This is the most natural path to entering this circle.
2. Direct purchase by VC: Abundant supply
Buying shares directly from venture capitalists is the closest to real private equity investment as described above.
The advantages are obvious: abundant supply, contact with a reliable VC once, and they will regularly contact you to promote your products; real equity is held through an SPV, with a clear legal structure; if the fees are negotiated well, you can achieve 0 management fees and 0 carry, with only a one-time channel fee.
However, there are two hurdles to overcome.
Funding Amount: Reliable large VCs usually require a minimum of M per transaction, while smaller VCs that support smaller amounts need to have their SPV reliability assessed additionally.
The biggest risk in pre-IPO investing, besides the company you're investing in, is the SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle). You hold a stake in the SPV, and if the SPV acts maliciously, the consequences can be severe. SPVs at Hiive and Forge are generally not a concern, but SPVs at smaller VCs always raise concerns.
Operationally, you can inquire about reliable VCs through industry circles or proactively contact them via email. Verify that the SPV is a single-layer entity and confirm that it has 0 management fees and 0 carry; only enter the market after these two conditions are met. Any entity that charges annual management fees, no matter how noble the reason, does not have the proper fee structure of a legitimate pre-IPO SPV.
🌟Comparison of Options: Which option is right for you?
Having reviewed all the breakdowns, let's return to the most practical question: Which solution is right for you?
1️⃣ On-chain solution: Suitable for investments ranging from a few hundred to tens of thousands of US dollars.
The greatest value of on-chain solutions lies in their low barrier to entry, simple processes, and the ability to enter and exit at any time. However, their limitations are also obvious; as the scale increases, liquidity, compliance risks, and counterparty risks will all be amplified simultaneously. Overall, these solutions are more suitable for testing the waters with small amounts of capital rather than for large-scale allocations.
Binance Wallet/PreStocks: Suitable for ordinary users with funds ranging from a few hundred to tens of thousands of US dollars. Backed by the traffic of Binance Wallet, it focuses on participation and low barriers to entry, allowing users to capture the emotional dividends of OpenAI and SpaceX with small amounts of capital.
Bitget/Gate SPACE X Subscription: Suitable for short-term speculators who want to profit from subscription discounts. The subscription prices on both exchanges (650/590) have a price advantage compared to the OTC price of SPACE X.
Hyperliquid/Ventuals: Funding rates are expensive, and retail investors are not advised to participate. Taking SpaceX contracts as an example, the current 8-hour funding rate is 0.0287%, which translates to an annualized rate of nearly 40%. In other words, even if SpaceX's valuation remains unchanged, holding a long position for the long term will incur a 40% annual holding cost.
2️⃣ Traditional channels: Suitable for those with $250,000 or more; the main battleground is for those with millions.
Traditional channels offer genuine equity with a clear legal structure and high SPV credibility, but the barriers to entry, procedures, and time costs are significantly higher than on-chain solutions. They are suitable for investors with substantial capital who are willing to invest for the long term.
Hiive / Forge Global: Suitable for configuration needs between $250,000 and $3 million, and is the most recommended path in this article.
Directly contacting VCs/brokers: Suitable for long-term investors with over $3 million in assets, industry connections, or a willingness to proactively build relationships. The supply is most abundant, and prices may be more competitive.
💡 A final reminder: Pre-IPO investments are not guaranteed to make money. IPO delays, valuation downgrades, and liquidity shortages are common occurrences. Understand what you're buying, find a path that matches your capital, and leave the rest to time.
*This article is for informational and market analysis purposes only and does not constitute any investment advice, financial advice, or recommendation. All data and opinions are based on publicly available information, DYOR.
