Robinhood targets a role in the SpaceX IPO…plan to expand allocations for retail investors

US online trading platform Robinhood has entered a competition with major investment banks to take part in SpaceX’s mega initial public offering (IPO). The idea is to secure a distribution channel that can directly allocate SpaceX shares to retail investors at the IPO price.

According to Cryptopolitan on the 29th (local time), Robinhood is pushing a plan to secure a substantial allocation of SpaceX IPO shares and offer them to individual investors via its IPO Access platform. This is seen as an attempt to challenge the IPO allocation structure traditionally led by Wall Street’s largest investment banks.

Sources said Robinhood is focused on enabling retail investors to buy SpaceX shares at pre-listing prices. IPO Access is Robinhood’s flagship service designed to allow ordinary investors to receive allocations at the offering price.

SpaceX, an aerospace and satellite company led by Elon Musk, is viewed by the market as potentially raising as much as $50 billion through this IPO. Its valuation is estimated at up to $1.5 trillion, and if completed it could become the largest IPO in history. The listing is most likely in mid-2026, though the timeline could change.

Wall Street banks that have handled IPO allocations are said to be expressing concerns about the move. Still, the market notes that Robinhood has expanded the influence of retail investors over the past decade by championing commission-free mobile trading, and views this effort as an extension of that trajectory.

Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev has also recently voiced concerns about the regulatory environment. He pointed out that “retail investors have been sidelined in the IPO process,” and argued that “institutional upgrades are needed, including new distribution structures such as tokenized stocks.” He said the aim is to avoid repeating the controversy over trading restrictions that arose during the GameStop episode.