Options traders prepare for busy week with SpaceX contract launch and triple witching

SpaceX options are expected to begin trading on June 16, landing squarely in the middle of a week that was already going to be chaotic. Between the quarterly triple witching expiration on June 18 and a Federal Open Market Committee meeting the day before, options traders are staring down a calendar that looks less like a schedule and more like a stress test.

SpaceX hit the Nasdaq on June 12 with an IPO price of $135 per share. By the time the dust settled, shares had surged more than 25%, pushing the rocket company’s valuation above $2 trillion. The ticker is SPCX, and the demand has been extraordinary. Ophir Gottlieb, a noted market commentator, has predicted “explosive demand” for SpaceX options, suggesting they could generate record initial option volumes measured in dollar terms.

Platforms like Cboe are expected to list the SPCX contracts, giving traders access to the full range of calls and puts.

Triple witching adds fuel to the fire

Triple witching is the quarterly event when stock options, stock index futures, and stock index options all expire on the same day. The June triple witching falls on June 18, just two days after SpaceX options are expected to go live. When massive amounts of options and futures contracts expire simultaneously, market makers need to delta-hedge their books, buying and selling large quantities of the underlying stocks and indices to stay neutral, which amplifies price swings in both directions.

Traders will also be watching the FOMC meeting on June 17, which sits right between the SpaceX options launch and the triple witching expiration.

The pre-IPO trading was a preview

Before SpaceX even went public, Hyperliquid, the decentralized perpetual futures platform, hosted synthetic perpetual contracts on SpaceX that saw rapid volume increases in the weeks leading up to the IPO. Hyperliquid’s SpaceX perps experienced a 45% flash crash at one point, liquidating approximately $1.5 million in positions.

What this means for traders and investors

There’s also the index inclusion angle to consider. A company valued above $2 trillion becomes an immediate candidate for inclusion in major indices like the S&P 500, assuming it meets the other criteria. Cboe’s listing of SPCX options gives it a first-mover advantage, but other exchanges will likely follow quickly.