Companies Anthropic and OpenAI announced a ban on unauthorized trading of their shares, leading to a significant drop in the prices of the tokenized versions of their securities on the PreStocks platform. Following the release of warnings from both companies, the tokens reflecting the shares of these firms lost value by 32.9% for Anthropic and 39.1% for OpenAI, according to CoinGecko data.
This is reported by Finway
Features of Trading Tokenized Shares
Both Anthropic and OpenAI are not public companies—they are only preparing for a potential IPO. However, tokenized versions of their shares are already available on the market, offered by various services, including PreStocks, Jarsy, Ventuals, and BitGet IPO Prime. For example, Ventuals provides the opportunity to trade perpetual futures on the valuation of private companies via HIP-3 on Hyperliquid.
PreStocks acts as a proxy solution that allows traders to purchase tokenized shares through a special purpose vehicle (SPV) that holds these securities. Users of the platform gain access to tokens in a 1-to-1 ratio with real shares. However, unlike tokenized shares of public companies like Nasdaq, these digital assets do not grant rights to participate in meetings or make company decisions.
Another example is xStocks from the Kraken exchange, which collaborates with public companies, distinguishing it from PreStocks.
Response of Anthropic and OpenAI to Unauthorized Trading
In February 2026, Anthropic issued a warning note regarding unauthorized trading, which was updated on May 12. The company announced a ban on the purchase of its shares through SPV, as well as the invalidity of any attempts to transfer shares in this manner. Among the companies that are not allowed to trade Anthropic shares were Open Door Partners, Unicorns Exchange, Pachamama, Lionheart Ventures, Hiive, Forge, Sydecar, and Upmarket.
“We do not allow special purpose vehicles (SPVs) to purchase Anthropic shares, and any transfer of shares to an SPV is invalid under our transfer restrictions. Offers to invest in past or future funding rounds of Anthropic through SPVs are prohibited.”
OpenAI also made a similar statement on May 13, 2026, emphasizing that all shares of the company are subject to transfer restrictions and cannot be sold or transferred without written consent from OpenAI. The company warned that any attempts to circumvent this requirement, including through agreements with SPVs or ‘forward’ contracts, may result in the annulment of transactions.
This is not the first time OpenAI has faced violations regarding the trading of its shares. Previously, the company emphasized that it had not authorized the Robinhood platform to trade its securities.
Following the recent statements, attention to the legitimacy of tokenized shares has significantly increased. According to PreStocks, OpenAI tokens fell by more than 15% in one day and by 39% over the week. For Anthropic tokens, the drop was 4.7% in one day and 32.9% over the week.
