Kraken paves the way for eligible customers in over 110 markets to register their interest in SpaceX before the company begins public trading, and anyone who receives an allocation will get SPCXx, a tokenized claim backed 1:1 by the underlying stock.
The move brings one of the year’s hottest services inside the crypto app, but only for users outside the US, Canada, Australia, and the UK.
Access mechanism
To participate, users must have a verified Kraken account and the Kraken mobile app, not Kraken Pro or a desktop site. Kraken said the SpaceX program is running through xStocks IPO Access, which allows eligible customers to submit interest prior to listing, and allocations are issued as tokens rather than traditional brokered positions.
Source: Kraken
The feature is available in the EEA and most parts of the world, but excludes US residents and customers in Canada, Australia and the UK, according to the company’s support page. Kraken also said that once allocated, tokenized shares can be traded 24 hours a day on Kraken and other participating xStocks venues.
Structure is important because it affects who can approach an IPO. In the normal process, access to near-offering pricing often goes to large institutions and a limited number of broker clients, while most retail buyers only emerge after trading has already begun.
Further entry into the tokenization market
Kraken is pitching the service as part of a broader effort to make tokenized stocks available for everyday use, and SpaceX will be the first IPO the company has set up behind its doors.
According to the exchange’s blog, the company is opening its doors to a large audience around the world, and its supporting materials frame the program as a way for eligible customers to submit interest before the stock begins public market trading.
This gives the product a different feel than a standard inventory list. Instead of waiting for a broker to open a book order or for a public market debut to settle, users will be dealing with tokens associated with stocks after allocation, making them available for trading at any time through the xStocks network.
SpaceX becomes a test case
SpaceX is an apt name for this experiment, as demand for the company is strong and its initial public offering is a hot topic.
The company plans to begin public trading on June 12, but demand has already outstripped the number of shares available, Bloomberg reports.
Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
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