A SpaceX pre-marymarket contract on Hyperliquid plunged 45% in minutes, liquidating over $1.5 million in leveraged long positions. The crash is suspected to be caused by an index price error in Ventuals’ HIP-3 market, triggering a mark-price correction and liquidation cascade. The event highlights systemic risks in tokenized pre-IPO assets, including illiquidity, oracle reliance, and leverage.
The SpaceX pre-IPO perpetual contract, trading as SPCX on Hyperliquid, crashed approximately 45% in minutes. This rapid decline from around $2,280 to $1,280 wiped out more than $1.5 million in leveraged long positions held by hundreds of traders.
Order book data showed liquidations accelerated as stop losses and margin calls were triggered, driving prices lower. Such volatility is often associated with the thin liquidity typical of niche pre-IPO derivative products.
The incident is attributed to a suspected index price error in the HIP-3 market operated by Ventuals. Discrepancies in reference index points can cause sudden mark-price corrections for perpetual contracts, which combined with high leverage often triggers a liquidation cascade.
As CoinMarketCap stated, “Hyperliquid’s SpaceX perpetual contract plunged nearly 45% in 30 minutes, liquidating 405 users and wiping out $1.51M in notional value as thin liquidity amplified a large sell order.” Neither Ventuals nor Hyperliquid has issued an official statement on the root cause.
The event demonstrates the inherent risks of tokenizing pre-IPO equities on blockchain platforms. While tokenized perpetuals offer greater accessibility and 24/7 trading, they introduce systemic risks from illiquidity and reliance on external oracles.
For both institutional and retail investors, the growth of markets like the SpaceX pre-IPO contract necessitates robust risk management and reliable oracle design. Clarification of liquidation procedures is also a foundational requirement for this emerging sector.
