4x Gap in Unitree IPO: Will Longs or Shorts Be Liquidated at the Hyperliquid Opening?

As Unitree Robotics prepares to go public with Hyperliquid contracts pointing to nearly four times its IPO price, investors are facing two-sided liquidation risks at the opening.

Chinese robot manufacturer Unitree will go public on the Shanghai STAR Market at a price of 150.80 yuan, or $22.37 per share. While this price brings the company’s valuation to approximately $9 billion, pre-IPO perpetual contracts on Hyperliquid traded in the $92-$94 range on Friday. According to Allium’s calculations, this level corresponds to a synthetic valuation of approximately $38 billion for Unitree.

The company’s IPO transactions are expected to begin between August 17-21. With a total of $9.1 million in open interest across two contracts operated by Trade.xyz and Paragon, trading volume has reached approximately $59 million. At Trade.xyz, the value of long positions stands at $6.5 million, while the value of short positions is at the $6.6 million level.

Liquidation risk grows in Unitree contracts

Pre-IPO perpetual contracts allow investors to trade with leverage on a company’s valuation before the IPO, but they do not offer actual share ownership. When the company’s shares begin trading, the contract price is expected to approach the reference market price.

Allium stated that if the stock opens at around $45, approximately 33% of long positions could be liquidated, while an opening around $128 could result in the liquidation of approximately 53% of short positions. Previously, the fact that CXMT contracts closely tracked the opening price and SpaceX exceeded pre-IPO expectations highlighted the role of these markets in price discovery. However, the current price gap in Unitree indicates that the opening could lead to sharp losses for one side.