BlockBeats report: On May 13, OpenAI and Anthropic nearly simultaneously published or updated their official policies on their websites, explicitly declaring that all股权转让 without written consent are invalid. This includes direct sales and purchases, SPV (special purpose vehicle) shares, tokenized equity, and forward contracts.
Both parties stated that the aforementioned so-called "share transfer" will not be recognized in the company’s books and records, and the buyer will not acquire any shareholder rights; unauthorized transfers "will not be recognized by the company and have no economic value."
This major move quickly impacted the secondary market. Tokenized products on platforms such as PreStocks (Jupiter’s pre-IPO marketplace) were hit hardest. Anthropic’s token price plunged approximately 40% within 24 hours, causing a significant drop in implied valuation; corresponding OpenAI products also fell over 30%. Panic spread in traditional secondary markets, and although crypto pre-IPO perpetual contracts are purely derivative instruments (not representing actual equity), market sentiment still led to pronounced trading volatility.
OpenAI and Anthropic do not strictly prohibit share transfers. According to The Wall Street Journal, during a recent funding round, OpenAI permitted each employee to sell up to $300 million in shares. In October last year, more than 600 current and former employees collectively sold their shares, raising a total of $66 billion. Additionally, Bloomberg reported in February this year that Anthropic is planning an employee tender offer with a valuation of at least $350 billion, consistent with its valuation during the同期 funding round, allowing eligible current and former employees to sell a portion of their vested shares.
Therefore, the primary objective of this policy is to maintain strict control over the equity structure and prevent uncontrolled "shadow shareholders." It also aims to remove obstacles for a potential 2026 IPO, as the secondary market has previously inflated valuations far beyond official levels, undermining IPO pricing and fundraising narratives. The policy standardizes equity transfer procedures and reduces disruptions to the shareholder register and valuation narrative caused by unauthorized secondary market transactions. Additionally, this policy helps mitigate risks under U.S. securities laws, combats fraudulent SPVs, and protects the interests of employees and early investors.
This move marks the entry of AI private equity into a new phase of "strict regulation," and the premium space for crypto Pre-IPO products is expected to be further compressed.