OpenAI, Sam Altman’s brainchild, is none too thrilled about Robinhood offering tokenized versions of its private company shares. In fact, it’s downright angry.
In a social media post on Wednesday, OpenAI took to X to make it clear:
“These 'OpenAI tokens' are not OpenAI equity.” Oh, and just to make sure no one misses it, they added, “We did not partner with Robinhood, were not involved in this, and do not endorse it.”
So, in case you were wondering, no, Robinhood didn’t get the green light from OpenAI. Apparently, approval is needed to transfer any OpenAI equity, and that approval was a hard no. Robinhood, take notes.
Robinhood’s Tokenized Shares
What’s all the fuss about? Well, on Monday, Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev announced that the platform would start offering tokenized shares of private companies like OpenAI, SpaceX, and over 200 others. Because tokenized stocks are now the thing, and why wouldn’t we want our stocks in blockchain form, right? They’re so trendy. Robinhood is also rolling out some other features like perpetual trading and staking in the U.S., and a shiny new Layer 2 blockchain network based on Arbitrum.
Now, let’s get this straight: when you buy Robinhood’s “stock tokens,” you’re not actually buying the stock. No, no. You’re purchasing a tokenized contract that follows the price of the stock. So, basically, you’re betting on the stock, but not really owning any of it. Robinhood calls these “stock tokens” derivatives tracked on the blockchain. Because who wouldn’t want their stock investments on a blockchain, right?
But wait, Robinhood’s not alone in this brave new world of tokenized private shares. Republic, an investment platform, also jumped on the bandwagon, planning to offer tokenized shares of OpenAI and Anthropic. They’re calling it a way to improve retail access to investment opportunities. Just don’t get any ideas about actually having shareholder rights. Those are reserved for people who, you know, actually own the stock.
So, there you have it. Robinhood’s big blockchain adventure into tokenized shares, and OpenAI is here to remind everyone that they didn’t sign off on this ride. Be careful, Hodlers, owning tokenized shares isn’t the same as owning real shares. Just ask OpenAI.
Kristian Koch
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