Unitree crypto futures surge points to $40B valuation, 4x its $9B IPO
Crypto traders have been placing a much bigger bet on Unitree Robotics than the stock market’s opening price suggested. Just a day before the Chinese humanoid robot maker debuted on the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s Star Market, perpetual futures contracts tied to Unitree were trading at levels implying a valuation more than four times its official IPO price, according to Bloomberg. The mismatch between the crypto derivatives market and the traditional listing price turned Unitree’s debut into one of the more closely watched examples yet of how blockchain-based “pre-IPO perps” are starting to shape expectations before a stock ever opens for trading.
Key takeaways
- Unitree Robotics priced its Shanghai STAR Market IPO with a per-share price of 150.80 yuan ($22.37), the company’s total valuation reached approximately $9 billion.
- Perpetual futures contracts on the Hyperliquid blockchain were trading at about $100 the day before the debut, implying a valuation near $40.5 billion, per Bloomberg.
- CoinDesk cited blockchain analytics firm Allium reporting contracts near $92–$94, pointing to an implied valuation of roughly $38 billion — still more than four times the IPO price.
- Unitree’s IPO raised about $900 million and drew strategic investment from AI startup DeepSeek, according to CNBC.
- A similar pre-IPO futures premium preceded the stock surge of CXMT, the first mainland Chinese company to get a “perp” contract on Hyperliquid.
Unitree Robotics’ IPO and market debut
Unitree’s Shanghai listing marked the first time a humanoid robotics company went public on the mainland, and demand from retail investors was intense from the start. The Hangzhou-based startup priced its offering at 150.80 yuan, or about $22.37 a share, putting its total valuation at roughly $9 billion — equivalent to about 61 billion yuan, according to CNBC. The IPO raised close to $900 million and attracted strategic backing from DeepSeek, the Chinese AI startup.
… Continue reading the full article at the original source below.
