CryptoSlate
Elon Musk's personal net worth climbed to about $1.32 trillion as SpaceX shares traded above $200 on the public market, pushing his fortune past Bitcoin's roughly $1.29 trillion market capitalization, according to Bloomberg's Billionaire Index and CryptoSlate pricing. SpaceX, listed on Nasdaq under the ticker SPCX, priced its IPO at $135 a share last week and has since rallied more than 50%, lifting its market value to around $2.7 trillion — above Amazon and closing in on Microsoft.
Why it matters
The milestone is less about Bitcoin losing its role as the crypto benchmark and more about how quickly SpaceX has become a competing outlet for speculative capital. Bitcoin is still down more than 50% from its late-2025 record near $126,000, while the broader crypto market has cooled from a peak of about $4.21 trillion to roughly $2.23 trillion, according to CryptoSlate data. That backdrop has reopened the door for alternative risk assets to absorb the bid.
Retail demand has been central to SpaceX's rise. South Korean individual investors bought about $795.9 million of SPCX on June 12 alone — the stock's first trading day — making it the most purchased US stock among Korean retail traders in a single session. That single-day figure exceeded three-month net purchases in Micron Technology ($748.3M), the Nasdaq 100 ETF ($696.2M), and Marvell Technology ($694.5M).
Levered ETFs tied to SpaceX have amplified the trade. Bloomberg Intelligence's Eric Balchunas said total volume across 2x SpaceX ETFs topped $3 billion, with one product, SPCH, recording about $1.3 billion in second-day volume — the highest second-day ETF volume on record, ahead of the roughly $500 million logged by BlackRock's spot Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) on its own day two.
Market impact
The shift reframes where the marginal speculative dollar is sitting. Musk's fortune is now larger than the combined value of every digital asset outside Bitcoin, since the broader crypto market sits near $2.23 trillion and BTC accounts for roughly $1.29 trillion of that.
Frequently asked questions
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How did Elon Musk's net worth surpass Bitcoin's market cap?
Musk's net worth climbed to about $1.32 trillion as SpaceX shares traded above $200 post-IPO, edging past Bitcoin's roughly $1.29 trillion market capitalization per Bloomberg's Billionaire Index and CryptoSlate pricing.
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Why has SpaceX become the new speculative trade?
SpaceX priced its IPO at $135 and rallied more than 50%, lifting its market cap to around $2.7 trillion. A small float, retail demand, and heavy leveraged-ETF volume turned it into a global momentum trade.
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How much retail demand has SpaceX seen?
South Korean individual investors bought about $795.9 million of SPCX on June 12, its first trading day — the largest single-session US-stock purchase by Korean retail, exceeding three-month flows into Micron, the Nasdaq 100 ETF, and Marvell.
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What does SpaceX's record leveraged-ETF volume mean?
Bloomberg's Eric Balchunas said total 2x SpaceX ETF volume topped $3 billion, with one product (SPCH) logging ~$1.3B in second-day volume — the highest second-day ETF volume on record, ahead of BlackRock's IBIT's ~$500M day two.
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Is this a sign that Bitcoin is losing relevance?
The milestone reflects capital rotation rather than BTC losing its benchmark role. Bitcoin is still the largest digital asset by market value, but a 50%+ drawdown from late-2025 highs has redirected the speculative bid into SpaceX's tight float.
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