Pre-IPO Perps Eye SpaceX Listing

OpenSea Pivots to Tokenized Collectibles | Hana Bank Buys $670M Dunamu Stake

Marco Manoppo & Karon Pangestu
May 18, 2026

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Good Morning,

The gatekept world of late-stage private equity is being routed around, not reformed. TradeXYZ's SpaceX launch and the Cerebras print suggest pre-IPO perps are graduating from retail curiosity to a credible price discovery layer, even as VCs insist the liquidity isn't there yet.

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In Today's Email:

What Matters: Pre-IPO Perps Eye SpaceX Listing 👀
Product of the Week: OpenSea Pivots to Tokenized Collectibles 🔎
Charts: THORChain $10M Exploit, Hana Bank Buys $670M Dunamu Stake 📊

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Narratives: Pre-IPO Perps

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WHAT MATTERS

Pre-IPO Perps Eye SpaceX Listing

State of play: TradeXYZ launched SpaceX pre-IPO perps ahead of a potential $1.75T listing, positioning crypto-native synthetic markets as a faster price discovery venue than traditional secondaries.

TradeXYZ priced Cerebras perps within 3% of its Nasdaq open, while Hiive's secondary market lagged at $225 versus the $350 open.
Cerebras perps generated $207M in notional volume over two weeks, with retail traders up 90% from the IPO price.
Liquidity, manipulation, and offshore regulatory exposure remain the core risks; current open interest is too thin for VCs to hedge fund-mark positions.

Why it matters: Pre-IPO perps are turning crypto rails into a price discovery layer for the $8T trapped in private markets.

Our take: Cerebras was the proof-of-concept. Synthetic SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic exposure is exactly the retail demand crypto rails capture best, and TradeXYZ is running away with the category.

For builders and investors: Watch HIP-3 volume and SpaceX perp open interest. Edge accrues to oracle infrastructure and venues that can scale OI past institutional hedging size.

PRODUCT OF THE WEEK

OpenSea Pivots to Tokenized Collectibles

OpenSea's CMO sees the next NFT cycle driven by tokenized Pokémon cards, Rolexes, and tickets rather than PFPs, with the platform retooling around fiat onboarding and multi-chain asset management.

OpenSea is adding Apple Pay-style fiat rails and dollar-denominated pricing to meet mainstream buyers where they are.
The platform is positioning as a unified hub for assets, NFTs, and collectibles across wallets and chains.
The SEA token remains delayed, with launch contingent on a sustainable business underneath rather than a memecoin drop.

Other cool products:

Osero, a stablecoin savings protocol.
3F, a leveraged RWA marketplace built on Morpho.
RISE’s USDR, a T-bill-backed yield-bearing stablecoin built on M0.
Upshift Clear, an instant redemption infrastructure for tokenized RWAs.
Hotstuff Invest, a spot trading platform for tokenized stocks, ETFs, and crypto.

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CHARTS OF THE WEEK

THORChain Halts Trading After $10M Exploit

IMG: THORChain’s RUNE Chart

State of play: THORChain paused trading after security researchers flagged a suspected multi-chain exploit draining one of its Asgard vaults, with RUNE falling as much as 11% on the news.

ZachXBT and PeckShield identified theft addresses across Bitcoin, Ethereum, BNB Smart Chain, and Base, with losses estimated above $10M.
THORChain confirmed roughly $10.7M in protocol-owned funds compromised, saying user swaps appear unaffected.
The incident extends a pattern that includes the 2025 ThorFi insolvency, a $200M debt restructuring, and repeated use as a laundering route for unrelated hacks.

Our Take: THORChain's exploit and solvency track record is too long to write off. RUNE holders are pricing structural risk, not a one-off.

Hana Bank Buys $670M Dunamu Stake

State of play: Hana Bank is acquiring a 6.55% stake in Upbit operator Dunamu for $670M, marking Korea's largest banking sector investment in a digital asset firm as the Digital Asset Basic Act takes shape.

Hana purchases 2.28M shares from Kakao Investments, becoming Dunamu's fourth-largest shareholder ahead of a June 15 close.
The deal builds on Hana's existing Circle, Crypto.com, Standard Chartered, and BitGo Korea partnerships.
Dunamu is simultaneously processing a merger with Naver Financial that would consolidate Upbit under one of Korea's largest tech groups.

Our take: Korean banks are buying into crypto rails before the Digital Asset Basic Act locks the perimeter. Hana's bet: exchange equity beats licensing partnerships once stablecoin rules go live.

QUICK BITES

Bitcoin Depot files for Chapter 11 to wind down business.
Ongoing exploit drains $11.6M from Verus-Ethereum bridge.
Japan's SBI, Rakuten developing crypto investment trusts in-house.
House Agriculture leaders press Trump to appoint CFTC commissioners.
Italy’s largest bank more than doubles crypto holdings to $235M in Q1.
Harvard dumps ether ETF as Abu Dhabi fund keeps adding to BTC positions.

NOTEWORTHY READS & MEME

Spencer’s read on The Things That Don't Exist Yet.
Jason Rosenthal’s read on The New PMF Playbook.
Alex’s read on DeFi Lending has 3 bps Crime Drag on EVM and Solana.

— (@)

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Disclaimer: All the information presented in this publication and its affiliates is strictly for educational purposes only. It should not be construed or taken as financial, legal, investment, or any other form of advice.