Stamp Out Uncontrolled Secondary Markets! OpenAI and Anthropic Simultaneously Tighten Equity Policies, Pre-IPO Market Plunges

BlockBeats News, May 13th. Yesterday, OpenAI and Anthropic almost simultaneously on their official websites published/updated formal policies, clearly stating that all unauthorized equity transfers are invalid. This includes direct sales, SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle) shares, tokenized equity, and futures contracts.

Both parties stated that the so-called "equity transfers" will not be recognized in the company's books and records, and buyers will not receive any shareholder rights. Unauthorized transfers "will not be recognized by the company and do not have any economic value."

This significant move quickly affected the secondary market. Tokenized products on platforms like PreStocks (Jupiter's Pre-IPO market) were hit the hardest. The price of Anthropic's token plummeted by about 40% within 24 hours, implying a significant valuation drop; the corresponding product of OpenAI also dropped by over 30%. Traditional secondary markets experienced panic, and although crypto Pre-IPO perpetual contracts are purely derivative tools (not representing actual equity), market sentiment still led to significant volatility in trading.

OpenAI and Anthropic are not strictly prohibiting "equity transfers." According to The Wall Street Journal, in a recent funding round, OpenAI allowed each employee to sell shares worth up to $30 million. Last October, over 600 current and former employees collectively sold their shares, cashing out a total of $6.6 billion. Additionally, according to Bloomberg's report in February this year, Anthropic is planning an employee tender offer, valuing the company at at least $350 billion, consistent with the valuation of the concurrent funding round. Qualified current and former employees are allowed to sell some of their vested shares.

Therefore, the core purpose of this move is to firmly control the ownership structure, avoid "shadow ownership" taking over. It also aims to clear obstacles for a potential 2026 IPO (the secondary market had previously inflated the valuation far above the official level, impacting IPO pricing and roadshow narratives), unify the equity transfer standard, reduce unauthorized secondary trading's interference with the shareholder registry and valuation narrative. This policy can also mitigate U.S. securities law risks, combat fraudulent SPVs, and protect the interests of employees and early investors.

This action marks a new phase of "strict regulation" for AI private equity, and the premium space of crypto Pre-IPO products is expected to be further squeezed.