OpenAI and Anthropic Announce Full Ban on Unauthorized Stock Trading: Unauthorized SPV Investments Will Be Null and Void

According to Watchtower Beating monitoring, two AI giants with a combined valuation approaching $2 trillion are both taking action to clean up their cap tables on the eve of their IPOs.

Today, OpenAI released an official policy on its website, stating that all unauthorized equity transfers are deemed invalid, including direct sales, SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle) shares, tokenized ownership, and forward contracts. Parties involved in the transactions will not receive any economic value and may also violate U.S. securities laws. As early as August 2025, OpenAI had publicly warned investors to beware of unauthorized SPV scams, and this time, it has formally established rules.

Anthropic has also tightened its policy. The company directly used the term "void" instead of "voidable" on its equity trading policy page. Cryptocurrency lawyer Gabriel Shapiro pointed out that this represents the most aggressive legal stance under Delaware corporate law: voidable transactions can be saved, while void transactions are considered to have "never occurred" from a legal standpoint. Sellers can retain both the shares and the money received, while buyers can only seek recourse upstream. Anthropic also specifically named several platforms such as Open Door Partners, Unicorns Exchange, Forge Global, and Hiive, stating that shares purchased through these channels do not confer any shareholder rights.

This crackdown comes against the backdrop of a frenzied secondary market. In February of this year, Anthropic's primary financing valuation was $3.8 trillion, yet the secondary market had already surged to around $10 trillion. OpenAI was valued at $852 billion. Both companies plan to IPO in the fourth quarter of this year, aiming to clean up their uncontrolled cap tables of "wild shareholders" before going public, driven by both compliance requirements and the battle for pricing power.