More than $50 million in forced liquidations occurred over 48 hours in a tokenised stock perpetual futures product linked to SpaceX's share price. Analysts say the episode shows tokenised stocks can carry the same leveraged risk structure as crypto derivatives, going beyond simply improving access to stock trading.

Cryptoslate, a blockchain media outlet, reported on Wednesday that SPCX, a SpaceX-linked perpetual futures product, saw sharp volatility as its underlying price tested around $150, the Nasdaq reference opening level, leading to more than $50 million in liquidations over 48 hours.

The liquidation scale rose to behind only bitcoin and ether in the crypto derivatives market over the same period. Observers described it as unusual that a product linked to a single unlisted company's stock recorded liquidations on a scale similar to major cryptocurrencies.

The core of the episode lies in the product structure. SPCX is closer to a derivative that tracks SpaceX's share price than a version of ordinary shares moved onto a blockchain. Investors do not hold actual SpaceX shares, but invest only in price movements, and do not receive share ownership, voting rights or physical delivery rights.

The trading structure also differs from the traditional stock market. Binance runs SPCXUSDT as a pre-listing perpetual futures product settled in USDT, with leverage and a funding-fee structure applied. Coinbase also explains that pre-listing perpetual futures are cash-settled and do not provide actual share ownership or voting rights. Crypto.com also supports a similar SpaceX-linked perpetual futures product.

As a result, investors are not simply tracking a share price, but trading within a system of margin, leverage and funding fees. If prices move against a position, forced liquidation can occur immediately due to insufficient collateral, without waiting for the market close or the next trading day.

SpaceX's actual share price has recently undergone a sharp correction and traded below $150. Investors who bought at or above $135, the benchmark price for an initial public offering, or built long positions entered loss territory, and some were automatically liquidated due to a lack of collateral.

The market views the episode as showing differences in price formation between traditional stock markets and tokenised stock markets.

Traditional stocks are priced within trading hours and through market makers and brokers' risk management systems. Tokenised stock perpetual futures, by contrast, trade 24 hours a day, apply exchange-specific reference prices and funding fees, and liquidate positions as soon as margin becomes insufficient. Even when tracking the same underlying asset, price movements and the risks borne by investors differ substantially.

The industry has also assessed that the incident revealed new risk factors in the tokenised stock market. Tokenised stocks have focused on expanding access, fractional trading and opportunities to invest in unlisted shares, but the real risk may arise first from leverage, margin and funding structures surrounding the product rather than from the product itself.

The market cites whether SPCX's open interest, funding fees and liquidation 규모 stabilise as key variables. If the underlying price stabilises and leverage falls, tokenised stocks could establish themselves as a new vehicle for transferring risk. If high open interest and volatility persist, some raise the possibility that liquidation pressure could build first in derivatives markets, ahead of the actual share price.