SpaceX’s $85 billion IPO windfall went everywhere except Bitcoin
SpaceXbeat Wall Street’s revenue and earnings expectations in its first quarterly report since itsrecord IPO,giving the company a stronger financial base for its accelerating artificial intelligence. . .
SpaceXbeat Wall Street’s revenue and earnings expectations in its first quarterly report since itsrecord IPO,giving the company a stronger financial base for its accelerating artificial intelligence expansion. In an Aug. 4 Xpost, the firm revealed that its second-quarter revenue rose 92% year over year to $7. 814 billion, exceeding the roughly $6. 8 billion analysts expected. Adjusted EBITDA climbed 191% to $3. 538 billion, well above consensus estimates of about $2 billion. The company’s net loss narrowed to $541 million from $1. 008 billion a year earlier, while its operating loss improved to $143 million from $970 million. IPO cash piles into money funds while Bitcoin holdings stay flatThe revenue beat came asSpaceX directed most of its post-IPO liquidityinto money-market funds and government securities while maintaining an unchanged Bitcoin balance. Notably, SpaceX had generated $85. 675 billion in net proceeds during its record IPO, which helped lift its cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities to nearly $100 billion. SpaceX held $65. 625 billion in money-market funds at June 30, more than triple the $21. 339 billion reported at the end of 2025, according to its SEC filing. The company also held $4. 011 billion in government securities classified as cash equivalents and another $6. 487 billion recorded as marketable securities. Together, its money-market funds and government securities were worth $76. 123 billion. SpaceX Cash Holdings (Source: SpaceXSEC Filing)On the other hand, the firm's reportedBitcoinposition did not increase alongside that liquidity. SpaceX held 18,712 BTCwith a cost basis of $661 million at June 30, matching the amount and cost basis reported at the end of 2025. The matching balances show that SpaceX reported no net change in its Bitcoin position between Dec. 31 and June 30. The filing does not disclose transaction-level activity, meaning purchases and sales could have occurred during the period and offset each other before quarter-end. However, the position’s fair value fell to $1. 098 billion from $1. 637 billion during the first half, producing a $539 million unrealized loss. Despite the decline, the Bitcoin position remained $437 million above its reported cost. It represented about 1. 1% of SpaceX’s cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities after the IPO, down from approximately 6. 6% at year-end. AI absorbs most of the investment budgetSpaceX directed $15. 828 billion into AI infrastructure during the second quarter, more than 21 times the $749 million spent a year earlier and about double the amount deployed in the first quarter. The AI outlay accounted for 86% of SpaceX’s $18. 369 billion in total quarterly capital expenditure. It also exceeded Wall Street’s $13. 09 billion estimate forAI spending, even as overall capex came in slightly below the $18. 58 billion expected. Across the first half, AI capital expenditure climbed to $23. 551 billion from $3. 316 billion a year earlier. That represented nearly 83% of SpaceX’s total $28. 476 billion investment during the period. The spending supports SpaceX’s effort tobuild large-scale data centers, lease high-demand computing capacity to major technology companies and develop its own AI models and coding products. That investment has already begun generating commercial returns. AI revenue reached $2. 561 billion during the quarter, driven by computing agreements with customers includingGoogleandAnthropic, alongside revenue from Grok and X subscriptions. Chief Financial Officer Bret Johnsen said contracted compute deployments were producing payback periods of less than one year, allowing SpaceX to recover equipment costs more quickly than it does on launch sites and satellite infrastructure. However, the estimate applies to specific compute contracts rather than the AI division as a whole. The segment still recorded a $1. 257 billion operating loss, alongside $1. 885 billion in depreciation and amortization and $2. 178 billion in research and development spending. SpaceX has signed $14. 1 billion in cloud-services agreements and added another $6. 7 billion in contracts after the quarter ended. CryptoSlate Daily BriefDaily signals, zero noise. Market-moving headlines and context delivered every morning in one tight read. 5-minute digest100k+ readersFree. No spam. Unsubscribe any time. You’re subscribed. Welcome aboard. Johnsen said capital spending would remain at a similar level during the final two quarters of the year, indicating that AI infrastructure will continue absorbing most of the company’s investment budget. The section should connect the selloff to both pressures without claiming either one alone caused it. It should also distinguish confirmed equity shorting from two-sided crypto derivatives activity. SPCX struggles as $100 billion unlock meets crowded short tradeThe earnings beat failed to ease concerns about SpaceX’s AI spending and the imminent increase in tradableSPCX shares. With investor sentiment already under pressure, attention now turns to the supply overhang. On Aug. 6, insiders become eligible to sell approximately 900 million shares worth about $105 billion at current prices. Tom Dunleavy, the Head of Venture at Varys Capital, said the release would rank among the largest lockup expirations in market history. The shares already exist, but the expiration could sharply expand the stock available for public trading if employees and early investors choose to sell. The Aug. 6 expiration is also the first stage of a broader increase in supply. Dunleavy said another block would become eligible after SpaceX reports third-quarter earnings, while additional restrictions expire on Dec. 8. By then, about 40% of SpaceX’s outstanding shares could be freely tradable, althoughElon Musk’sstake remains locked until June 2027. Short sellers had already positioned for further weakness. S3 Partners estimated that 95% ofSPCX sharesavailable to borrow were out on loan, while short interest had reached 34% of the public float. SPCX Short PositionsExpectations of heightened volatility were also visible in crypto derivatives markets. CoinGlass data reviewed byCryptoSlateshowed SPCX futures volume and open interest reaching their highest levels since the contracts launched. According to thedata, SPCX's trading volume in the last 24 hours climbed to about $6. 85 billion, while open interest approached $720 million. SPCX Futures Trading Volume Across Crypto Platforms (Source: CoinGlass)Rising open interest does not show whether traders were predominantly bullish or bearish because each futures contract includes both long and short positions. However, elevated equity short interest, record derivatives activity, and the approaching unlock indicate that traders are preparing for larger price swings as the stock’s tradable supply expands. That has already translated into a negativeprice performance for SPCX,which has fallen to $114, which is about 15% below its $135 IPO price, 28% lower over the past month, and roughly 49% beneath its June high.