Bitcoin and ether markets are ruled by perps. SpaceX showed how far their influence can go

The article explains that perpetual futures (“perps”) now dominate crypto price discovery, accounting for roughly 93% of crypto futures volume and often leading spot markets in setting prices for bitcoin and ether. It cites research and market data showing perps have increasingly become the venue where new information is reflected first, with funding rates acting as both a price anchor and a sentiment gauge. The piece then uses SpaceX’s June 2026 IPO as a real-world case study: synthetic pre-IPO perp markets on Binance, Hyperliquid, Coinbase and others priced the stock closer to its eventual debut performance than Wall Street’s $135 IPO price. SpaceX opened around the perp-implied level and traded up sharply on day one, but later fell more than 40% from its peak due to supply dynamics that perps could not anticipate. Overall, the article’s market takeaway is that derivatives are increasingly driving price discovery, while spot markets often react afterward.