China's Capital Controls Push Investors to Risky Crypto Bets on US Tech Firms

Chinese investors are turning to cryptocurrency-linked products to gain exposure to U.S. tech firms' initial public offerings (IPOs), particularly those of SpaceX and OpenAI.

This move comes after Beijing's capital controls pushed Chinese investors toward risky bets on U.S. companies, with many getting shut out from direct participation in these listings.

The investment products tied to these IPOs are built around digital tokens that track the value of the firms, but do not represent real share ownership or any voting rights for buyers.

Paimon Finance and Bitget have launched tokenized products linked to SpaceX and OpenAI's performance, with some Chinese investors using offshore crypto platforms like Binance to convert their renminbi currency into stablecoins such as USDT.