OpenAI denounces Robinhood's 'OpenAI Tokens' sale
OpenAI is making it clear: they have nothing to do with Robinhood's new "OpenAI tokens."
These tokens, launched on the Arbitrum blockchain, are meant to track shares of private companies like OpenAI and SpaceX—but OpenAI says, "These 'OpenAI tokens' are not OpenAI equity. We did not partner with Robinhood, were not involved in this, and do not endorse it."
Robinhood is promoting tokenized stock options in Europe
Robinhood has been actively promoting its tokenized stock options in Europe.
The company warned, "Any transfer of OpenAI equity requires our approval—we did not approve any transfer. Please be careful."
So far, Robinhood hasn't explained how these tokens are regulated or shared details about the setup behind them.
These aren't actual shares but contracts: CEO
Robinhood's CEO Vlad Tenev says these aren't actual shares but contracts that just follow the price of private company stocks.
As he puts it: "When buying stock tokens, you are not buying the actual stocks—you are buying tokenized contracts that follow their price."
Selling private company shares without permission is a big concern
This whole situation highlights bigger worries in tech and finance about selling private company shares without permission.
Private firms usually keep tight control over who owns their equity; unauthorized token sales can cause legal headaches and mess with valuations.
Similar issues have popped up before with other startups pushing back against unapproved trading.