CMC Marketshas launched grey market trading on SpaceX, letting clients take long or shortpositions on Elon Musk's space company before any public listing, the FTSE 250broker (LSE: CMCX) said today (Thursday). Theproduct, which uses spread bets and contracts for difference, arrived the sameday Binance debuted a comparable offering on its futures venue, putting two ofretail's most distinct trading venues on the same trade.Same-Day Launches Mark aCrowded Race for SpaceX ExposureUnder CMC Markets' structure, positions opened before SpaceXlists will roll into the broker's standard listed share spread bet or CFD oncethe company begins trading on a public exchange. Clients keep control over whento close. VaughnAffonso, Co-Head of Dealing at CMC, said the launch reflects "growingdemand for event-driven trading opportunities" around high-profile privatecompanies. “Launching with SpaceX reflects that appetite and broadens the rangeof opportunities available to clients.”Binance's parallel product, SPCXUSDT Pre-IPOPerpetual, uses USDT-margined perpetual futures rather than spread bets. Thecrypto exchange said the contracts will track price signals from the IPOprocess before listing, then switch to the live share price once SpaceX tradespublicly. FinanceMagnates.comreported in April that SpaceX is targeting a publicdebut that could raise up to $75 billion at a valuation between $1.25 trillionand $1.75 trillion."Pre-IPOperpetual futures is another example of how Binance is democratizing access tomarket opportunities by combining crypto-native infrastructure with majorfinancial events,” commented Shunyet Jan, Head of Spot and Derivatives Businessat Binance. Bothproducts carry similar mechanics for the broker, since each is a syntheticinstrument tied to a private company that has not yet set its IPO range. CMChas not disclosed how it will mark its grey market price.Brokers Reach Back to aPre-IPO PlaybookGrey markettrading is a familiar product for British spread betting firms, but one thathas lost visibility as tokenization and direct private-share platforms havetaken the headlines. IG Group opened a grey market on Snap Inc. in February2017, citing earlier client interest in Facebook and Royal Mail. Markets.comran a similar trade on Uber and Lyft in 2019, telling clients it expected tooffer the same on Airbnb and Pinterest.What CMC'slaunch adds is a return to that format at a moment when crypto exchanges andtokenized-stock platforms have been the dominant retail entry point for privatenames. The CFD wrapper offers regulated short exposure, which most tokenproducts do not.Tokenization Set the Pace,Now CFDs Catch UpBitgetlaunched its IPO Prime line in April, with SpaceX as the first listing under atoken branded preSPAX, structured to mirror the company's post-listingperformance. Robinhood rolled out tokenized SpaceX andOpenAI exposure to European users in June 2025, a launch that pushed its stockto a record but drew a Bank of Lithuania inquiry within days. OpenAIpublicly disowned the product, saying the tokens did not represent equity inthe company.Thatregulatory friction is part of what makes CMC's CFD-based approach distinct.Spread bets and CFDs are synthetic by design, with no claim of equityownership, and they sit inside an established UK and European retail framework.The wrapperquestion raised by tokenized stocks has been a recurring industry debate as more platforms launch versionsof the product.CMC'soffering also fits inside its existing trading platform without a separateblockchain-based settlement layer, removing the technical and licensing riskthat has dogged tokenized equities.CMC Doubles Down onMulti-Asset GrowthThe launchfollows a stronger first half for CMC's fiscal 2026, whennet operating income rose 14% to £186.2 million and net profit reached £35.7million. The company raised its full-year outlook in November and has beenexpanding its CMC Connect institutional business and CMC Invest retailplatform.ChrisCheverall, Head of UK at CMC, framed the move as part of that broaderexpansion. "We are providing clients with greater flexibility in how theyaccess compelling equity themes," he said.CMC saidadditional pre-IPO names will be added as demand develops, without naming whichcompanies are under consideration. Other private firms cited as 2026 IPOcandidates include OpenAI, Anthropic, Databricks, Stripe and Kraken.Thecompetitive picture is filling in quickly. IG Group hit a record high this week after raising its revenue outlook,while Robinhood has continued to add private exposure through both itstokenized stock product and a US-listed venture fund that has taken positionsin OpenAI and Stripe. This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.