Crypto contract puts CXMT near $425 billion before Shanghai listing
A Hyperliquid derivative has valued ChangXin Memory Technologies far above its IPO price, highlighting investor access limits and scrutiny of crypto venues.
By Sarah Jenkins · Chief Macro Economics Correspondent
· 4 min read
A crypto-linked derivative tied to ChangXin Memory Technologies traded on Thursday at a level implying a market value of about $425 billion, or roughly 2.9 trillion yuan, days before the Chinese memory-chip group’s planned Shanghai debut, CNBC reported. That valuation would put CXMT above Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, which CNBC cited as the mainland’s largest listed company at about 2.56 trillion yuan.
The contract is offered by crypto startup Trade.xyz on Hyperliquid, a decentralized derivatives exchange. It allows traders to take exposure to CXMT’s expected share value before the stock begins formal trading, without owning the underlying equity.
According to CNBC, the CXMT-linked perpetual futures contract was recently near $6.35 a share, after touching $8.60. A perpetual futures contract is a derivative with no fixed expiry date. Traders use it to speculate on the price of an asset, while the contract price is kept near a reference level through market mechanisms rather than delivery of the asset itself.
CXMT’s IPO price was set at 8.66 yuan, or $1.28, per share, according to a Shanghai Stock Exchange filing cited by CNBC. That price gives the company an initial valuation of 579 billion yuan, still enough to make the deal the largest listing in the history of Shanghai’s technology-focused STAR Market, CNBC reported.
Access limits shape pricing
The wide gap between the derivative price and the IPO valuation reflects both demand for China’s semiconductor sector and restricted access to the offering. CNBC reported that the Shanghai listing is effectively unavailable to foreign investors. Mainland retail investors also face entry requirements for STAR Market trading, including a 500,000 yuan account balance and two years of trading experience.
Eric Chen, co-founder and chief executive of Web3 finance firm Injective Labs, told CNBC that the crypto market is less a valuation exercise than an attempt to estimate where the stock may open. He said Chinese IPO pricing practices, a limited initial float and a lack of liquid shorting venues mean the contract may reflect the views of the most optimistic participants.
“Part of the premium is a forecast,” Chen told CNBC. “Part of it is simply what the world will pay for exposure it can’t get directly in the equities market.”
CNBC reported that CXMT, described as the world’s fourth-largest DRAM memory-chip maker, is coming to market during a strong cycle for memory prices, supported by AI-related demand and constrained global supply. The company is set to raise as much as $8.6 billion, which CNBC said would make it Asia’s largest IPO this year.
Crypto price discovery draws regulatory attention
Crypto platforms have increasingly offered synthetic exposure to private companies, pre-IPO names and assets that trade only in restricted markets. Tanay Ved, a senior research associate at Coin Metrics, wrote in a report cited by CNBC that Hyperliquid’s pre-IPO perpetuals have created round-the-clock derivative markets for private technology companies. Ved said a Cerebras Systems contract settled within about 1.3% of that stock’s Nasdaq opening price.
The track record is uneven. CNBC reported that a SpaceX-linked contract traded about 20% above a fixed $135 offer price before its June debut, after rising above $220 in May.
Hyperliquid is also facing scrutiny. The Monetary Authority of Singapore added the platform to its Investor Alert List in June, which identifies entities that are not licensed or authorized in the city-state. Hyperliquid said the listing was not a ban or enforcement action and said it had not claimed MAS regulation, CNBC reported.
Kyle Samani, co-founder of Multicoin Capital and chair of Forward Industries, said on X that Hyperliquid is not permissionless, challenging a claim made on its website and citing its closed-source code and concentrated validator set. CNBC said Hyperliquid did not respond to a request for comment. CXMT also did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request about the implied valuation.
Chen told CNBC that once CXMT begins trading, the derivative should reset against the market price. If the Shanghai opening price is below the contract, he said repricing could be immediate; if onshore demand is stronger, the stock could trade higher.
This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.
