Crypto exchange OKX is preparing to launch perpetual futures contracts tracking the valuations of private tech giants OpenAI, SpaceX, and Anthropic.
The perpetual futures allow traders to speculate on private company valuations through derivatives that settle without delivering actual shares. The contracts track reference prices linked to secondary market activity but grant no equity ownership or shareholder benefits like voting rights or dividends.
The target companies span the most valuable privately held firms in tech. ChatGPT maker OpenAI and Claude developer Anthropic lead the AI industry, while Elon Musk's SpaceX is gearing up for an impending IPO, recently merging with Musk's AI startup xAI.
OKX joins a wave of crypto platforms chasing pre-IPO market exposure. Bitget entered the segment in April through its 'IPO Prime' platform, while Injective launched pre-IPO perpetual futures last year.
Not all target companies welcome such products. When Robinhood pursued a similar model last year with OpenAI-linked tokens, OpenAI distanced itself from the product, saying it had no affiliation.
Alongside the pre-IPO perps, OKX also announced tokenized stock trading via a partnership with Ondo Finance, as well as new equity perps for trading.