OKX opens pre-IPO trading in OpenAI and Anthropic for Europeans

European traders now have a new way to speculate on companies that have not yet listed, courtesy of OKX. The exchange is launching Pre-IPO X-Perps for the likes of OpenAI and Anthropic. The products let users go long or short on the implied valuation of these companies without owning any actual shares. At the same time, OKX is expanding its offering with 100 Tokenized Stocks that trade 24/7.

Trading OpenAI and Anthropic before an IPO

OpenAI and Anthropic are among the best known private companies in the world, but neither has a regular share that retail investors can buy on an exchange. OKX is trying to plug that gap for European traders, at least in part, with its Pre-IPO X-Perps.

These products make it possible to speculate on the implied valuation of a private company. Users can go both long and short, with leverage of up to 10x.

According to figures shared by OKX, Anthropic raised $65 billion in May at a valuation of $965 billion. OpenAI closed a $122 billion funding round in March at a valuation of $852 billion.

Crucially, a Pre-IPO X-Perp is not a share in OpenAI or Anthropic. The trader acquires no ownership or economic rights in the underlying company. What is more, the price of the product can diverge significantly from private valuations and from any future listing price.

View OKX’s Pre-IPO markets here.

A new market for European traders

According to OKX, markets of this kind have so far been barely available to European users through traditional brokers and other regulated trading platforms. At the same time, the exchange says it is seeing demand for such products.

European trading volume in X-Perps has grown fourfold since the start of July, according to OKX. The company therefore intends to add more Pre-IPO markets as soon as new private businesses attract sufficient interest.

An actual stock market listing is not guaranteed. An IPO can be postponed, cancelled or never happen at all. And because of the leverage involved, both profits and losses can mount up faster.

100 Tokenized Stocks added as well

Alongside its focus on Pre-IPO companies, OKX is also introducing Tokenized Stocks for European users this week. There are 100 markets available at launch, including NVIDIA, Google, Palantir, SpaceX and products that track SPY and QQQ.

Unlike traditional US stock exchanges, these products can be traded 24/7. Before users gain access, they must first pass a short five-question assessment.

View the Tokenized Stocks available on OKX here.

Here too, this is not direct share ownership. Tokenized Stocks do not confer direct shareholder rights. OKX Europe Markets Ltd operates under the supervision of the Malta Financial Services Authority for these activities.