Retail investors are getting a backdoor into Elon Musk’s rocket empire, but this isn’t equity, and it’s not an IPO either.
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Republic, a startup investment platform, just launched a product that could change the game for everyday investors: blockchain-based tokens that track the value of private companies like SpaceX. That means anyone can now buy into the hype and upside of one of the most valuable startups in the world—without accredited status, and without owning the actual shares.
Let that sink in: a SpaceX “exposure token” is now available for as little as $50.
It doesn’t offer traditional equity or come with standard regulatory protections, but it’s the latest attempt to democratize access to the most elite corners of Silicon Valley, and the ripple effect could be massive.
The SpaceX Token Isn’t Ownership, But It’s Close Enough for Now
Republic’s new token mirrors the price of SpaceX shares as they trade in private secondary markets. If the value goes up, so does the token. When SpaceX IPOs or gets acquired, investors get paid out based on the gain. If it doesn’t, the token sits in limbo, valuable only if someone else wants to buy it later.
You don’t get voting rights. You don’t see the company’s books. You’re not technically a shareholder. But you are, in a roundabout way, exposed to the value movement of one of the most sought-after private companies on the planet.
That’s the pitch.
Republic says it doesn’t need permission from the companies to offer these tokens because the tokens are structured as contracts with Republic itself. The legal groundwork rests on a 2012 JOBS Act exemption, which lets startups raise up to $5 million a year from retail investors through crowdfunding structures.
This Isn’t the First Time Tokens Tried to Crack Public Equity
Binance tried to tokenize Tesla (TSLA) and Apple (AAPL) shares in 2021—and regulators shut it down within months. But Republic thinks its regulatory framework is different. It’s SEC-licensed for crowdfunding and already offers tokenized securities in other sectors like movies and sports.
Still, questions remain. What happens if SpaceX publicly objects? And how will the SEC interpret a product that looks, acts, and trades like a stock but isn’t one?
The Stock Market Isn’t the Only Game in Town Anymore
Wall Street knows it. So do crypto platforms. There’s a new arms race to create synthetic exposure to private growth-stage companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Stripe—firms that are worth billions but haven’t gone public.
Republic is trying to win that race with a workaround. It’s offering access to deals that were previously reserved for hedge funds and insiders. And it’s doing it without waiting for these companies to IPO.
Investors can put in as little as $50 or as much as $5,000. The tokens have a one-year lockup and are expected to trade on INX, a blockchain-based alternative trading system that Republic is in the process of acquiring.
What This Means for Stocks
The model is still experimental, but if it works, it could challenge the current IPO pipeline. Public investors could soon get pre-IPO access to companies long before the Wall Street bell rings.
That has implications for private equity, VC firms, and traditional brokerages. If tokens like this scale (and stay out of regulatory trouble), we could see a new class of retail-accessible startup investing.
It also raises the stakes for companies like Fidelity (FNF), Robinhood (HOOD), and Coinbase (COIN), who’ve all been inching toward tokenized or fractional private offerings.
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