SpaceX’s S-1 registration statement filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on May 20 disclosed that the aerospace company invested approximately $661 million to acquire 18,712 BTC, resulting in an average purchase price of $35,324 per Bitcoin. The filing, a prerequisite for its initial public offering, offers a rare glimpse into the company’s cryptocurrency treasury strategy and notes the holdings are managed by an external custodian, though the custodian’s name remains undisclosed.
The average entry point sits far below Bitcoin’s all-time high of nearly $69,000 in November 2021, suggesting disciplined accumulation during market downturns. SpaceX joins Tesla, MicroStrategy, and Block in treating Bitcoin as a corporate reserve asset, and the inclusion in IPO documents signals that the company considers its crypto position material to its financial standing. Under current U.S. GAAP, digital assets are subject to impairment losses but cannot be marked up until sold, which could introduce volatility into future earnings reports.
Separately, the timing of SpaceX’s highly oversubscribed $1.8 trillion IPO coincided with a 16% decline in Bitcoin that briefly pushed prices below $60,000, fueling online speculation that retail investors sold crypto to fund IPO subscriptions. However, a detailed on-chain analysis by CoinDesk found no abnormal stablecoin withdrawals from exchanges—a key metric for funds exiting the crypto ecosystem. Analysts caution that internal brokerage transfers on platforms like Robinhood or Coinbase are not visible on public blockchains, leaving a data gap. Without proprietary data, the sell-off narrative remains unsubstantiated, and broader market headwinds likely drove the drop.
