Crypto exchange OKX is giving European traders access to markets linked to private AI companies OpenAI and Anthropic through pre-IPO perpetual futures, allowing users to speculate on changes in their valuations without owning shares. The new products allow traders to take long or short positions with leverage of up to 10 times.
OKX is also expanding its tokenised stock offering, making 100 stocks and exchange-traded funds available for trading around the clock. The move reflects the growing interest in giving crypto traders exposure to major private and public companies through blockchain-based financial products.
The new OpenAI and Anthropic products are not shares in either company. Instead, they are derivatives whose value is linked to expectations about the companies’ valuations.
Europe doesn’t need traditional trading hours anymore.
Trade OpenAI and Anthropic pre-IPO with up to 10x leverage, plus tokenized stocks 24/7.
Explore the new markets on The New Money App.
— OKX (@okx) September 11, 2026
That distinction matters. A trader using these perpetual futures does not receive ownership, voting rights or a direct stake in OpenAI or Anthropic. Instead, the trader is effectively taking a position on whether the valuation will rise or fall.
The products give traders the ability to go long or short, with leverage of up to 10 times. While that can increase potential returns, it can also magnify losses, making such products considerably different from simply buying shares.
The appeal comes partly from the enormous interest in private technology companies, particularly leading artificial-intelligence firms. OpenAI and Anthropic remain outside public stock markets, making direct exposure difficult for most individual investors.
Private shares generally change hands through funding rounds or secondary markets, where access can be restricted. Pre-IPO perpetuals offer another way for traders to gain exposure to valuation movements, although they are not a substitute for actual equity ownership.
OKX is not the first crypto exchange to offer such products. Hyperliquid already has markets connected to OpenAI and Anthropic, while Binance also offers pre-IPO perpetual contracts linked to the companies.
At the same time, OKX is expanding its activities in tokenised securities. The exchange is making 100 stocks and ETFs available for around-the-clock trading, including shares such as Nvidia and Palantir and funds including SPY and QQQ.
These tokenised products track the prices of the underlying securities but do not give holders actual shares or voting rights. Some can also be transferred out of OKX and held in self-custody wallets.
The two initiatives point to a wider change in the crypto industry. Exchanges are increasingly trying to give users access not only to cryptocurrencies but also to financial exposure connected to stocks, ETFs and private companies.
For traders, the attraction is convenience. A single crypto platform can potentially offer exposure to several types of assets without requiring users to move between different financial services.
But there is an important difference between exposure and ownership. A derivative linked to a private company’s valuation does not make the trader a shareholder, while a token tracking a public stock may not provide the same rights as the underlying security.
OKX said demand for its derivatives business has been increasing in Europe. The company reported that European trading volume in its X-Perps has quadrupled since the end of the MiCA transition period in July.
The latest launch shows how crypto exchanges are moving deeper into traditional finance. The boundary between crypto trading platforms and broader financial markets is becoming increasingly blurred, with derivatives and tokenised securities appearing alongside conventional digital assets.
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