CMC Markets has launched grey market trading on SpaceX, letting clients take long or short positions on Elon Musk's space company before any public listing, the FTSE 250 broker (LSE: CMCX) said today (Thursday).

The product, which uses spread bets and contracts for difference, arrived the same day Binance debuted a comparable offering on its futures venue, putting two of retail's most distinct trading venues on the same trade.

Same-Day Launches Mark a Crowded Race for SpaceX Exposure

Under CMC Markets' structure, positions opened before SpaceX lists will roll into the broker's standard listed share spread bet or CFD once the company begins trading on a public exchange Exchange An exchange is known as a marketplace that supports the trading of derivatives, commodities, securities, and other financial instruments.Generally, an exchange is accessible through a digital platform or sometimes at a tangible address where investors organize to perform trading. Among the chief responsibilities of an exchange would be to uphold honest and fair-trading practices. These are instrumental in making sure that the distribution of supported security rates on that exchange are effectiv An exchange is known as a marketplace that supports the trading of derivatives, commodities, securities, and other financial instruments.Generally, an exchange is accessible through a digital platform or sometimes at a tangible address where investors organize to perform trading. Among the chief responsibilities of an exchange would be to uphold honest and fair-trading practices. These are instrumental in making sure that the distribution of supported security rates on that exchange are effectiv Read this Term. Clients keep control over when to close.

Vaughn Affonso, Co-Head of Dealing at CMC, said the launch reflects "growing demand for event-driven trading opportunities" around high-profile private companies. “Launching with SpaceX reflects that appetite and broadens the range of opportunities available to clients.”

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Binance's parallel product, SPCXUSDT Pre-IPO Perpetual, uses USDT-margined perpetual futures rather than spread bets. The crypto exchange said the contracts will track price signals from the IPO process before listing, then switch to the live share price once SpaceX trades publicly.

FinanceMagnates.com reported in April that SpaceX is targeting a public debut that could raise up to $75 billion at a valuation between $1.25 trillion and $1.75 trillion.

"Pre-IPO perpetual futures is another example of how Binance is democratizing access to market opportunities by combining crypto-native infrastructure with major financial events,” commented Shunyet Jan, Head of Spot and Derivatives Business at Binance.

Both products carry similar mechanics for the broker, since each is a synthetic instrument tied to a private company that has not yet set its IPO range. CMC has not disclosed how it will mark its grey market price.

Brokers Reach Back to a Pre-IPO Playbook

Grey market trading is a familiar product for British spread betting firms, but one that has lost visibility as tokenization Tokenization Tokenization represents the process of substituting a sensitive data element with a non-sensitive equivalent, i.e. token, which bears no extrinsic or exploitable meaning or value. In essence, the rights to the ownership of an asset are converted into a digital token. Tokenization can be used to own an entire unit of an asset. For example, one token that represents the ownership of a piece of real estate or to split ownership of a single unity of an asset such as 200,000 tokens, each one represen Tokenization represents the process of substituting a sensitive data element with a non-sensitive equivalent, i.e. token, which bears no extrinsic or exploitable meaning or value. In essence, the rights to the ownership of an asset are converted into a digital token. Tokenization can be used to own an entire unit of an asset. For example, one token that represents the ownership of a piece of real estate or to split ownership of a single unity of an asset such as 200,000 tokens, each one represen Read this Term and direct private-share platforms have taken the headlines.

IG Group opened a grey market on Snap Inc. in February 2017, citing earlier client interest in Facebook and Royal Mail. Markets.com ran a similar trade on Uber and Lyft in 2019, telling clients it expected to offer the same on Airbnb and Pinterest.

What CMC's launch adds is a return to that format at a moment when crypto exchanges and tokenized-stock platforms have been the dominant retail entry point for private names. The CFD wrapper offers regulated short exposure, which most token products do not.

Tokenization Set the Pace, Now CFDs Catch Up

Bitget launched its IPO Prime line in April, with SpaceX as the first listing under a token branded preSPAX, structured to mirror the company's post-listing performance.

Robinhood rolled out tokenized SpaceX and OpenAI exposure to European users in June 2025, a launch that pushed its stock to a record but drew a Bank of Lithuania inquiry within days.

OpenAI publicly disowned the product, saying the tokens did not represent equity in the company.

That regulatory friction is part of what makes CMC's CFD-based approach distinct. Spread bets and CFDs are synthetic by design, with no claim of equity ownership, and they sit inside an established UK and European retail framework.

The wrapper question raised by tokenized stocks has been a recurring industry debate as more platforms launch versions of the product.

CMC's offering also fits inside its existing trading platform without a separate blockchain-based settlement layer, removing the technical and licensing risk that has dogged tokenized equities.

CMC Doubles Down on Multi-Asset Growth

The launch follows a stronger first half for CMC's fiscal 2026, when net operating income rose 14% to £186.2 million and net profit reached £35.7 million. The company raised its full-year outlook in November and has been expanding its CMC Connect institutional business and CMC Invest retail platform.

Chris Cheverall, Head of UK at CMC, framed the move as part of that broader expansion. "We are providing clients with greater flexibility in how they access compelling equity themes," he said.

CMC said additional pre-IPO names will be added as demand develops, without naming which companies are under consideration. Other private firms cited as 2026 IPO candidates include OpenAI, Anthropic, Databricks, Stripe and Kraken.

The competitive picture is filling in quickly. IG Group hit a record high this week after raising its revenue outlook, while Robinhood has continued to add private exposure through both its tokenized stock product and a US-listed venture fund that has taken positions in OpenAI and Stripe.