Unitree Soars 629% in IPO: Crypto Market Lags Behind This Time

Unitree Robotics’ Shanghai IPO opened with a 629% surge, bringing the company’s valuation to $66 billion; the $38 billion pricing of the UNITREE-USDC contract on Hyperliquid lagged approximately 75% behind the actual opening.

Hangzhou-based Unitree, which produces humanoid and quadruped robots, launched its shares at an IPO price of 150.8 yuan. In the first trade, the stock climbed to 1,100 yuan, rising 629% above its IPO price. This initial trade propelled the company’s market capitalization to approximately 445 billion yuan, or $66 billion.

The UNITREE-USDC contract, created by xyz.trade using Hyperliquid infrastructure, valued Unitree at approximately $38 billion before the exchange opened. This cash-settled perpetual futures contract did not grant investors share ownership but allowed them to take positions on the company’s pre-IPO price. The actual opening occurred approximately 75% higher than the level predicted by the crypto market.

Crypto pricing lagged behind in Unitree IPO

Trading volume in the contract reached $64 million, while total open interest hit $29 million. Investors were able to use up to 10x leverage on the contract. This structure meant that even small price movements could lead to forced liquidations of positions.

The risk was also evident as the funding rate dropped to minus 0.13% after the IPO. This rate indicated that those betting on a decline in Unitree’s price were paying those with long positions to keep their trades open.

The crypto market had achieved more successful price discovery prior to SpaceX. While the SpaceX contract predicted a price of approximately $170 before the IPO, the stock rose above $176 in the first session and closed at $161. In the case of Unitree, although crypto investors correctly identified that the IPO was underpriced, the actual market opening exceeded even the leveraged bets.