OKX has opened pre-IPO trading for European users, launching Pre-IPO X-Perps that reference OpenAI and Anthropic alongside 100 tokenized-stock markets, as the exchange reports that its European X-Perps activity has grown sharply since midsummer. The move extends the exchange's OKX pre-IPO trading push into the European market, letting traders take positions on implied private-company valuations without holding any equity in the companies themselves.
On September 10, 2026, OKX announced that European traders could trade Pre-IPO X-Perps referencing OpenAI and Anthropic, according to the exchange's launch disclosure. Erald Ghoos, speaking for OKX, said the exchange had opened pre-IPO markets starting with X-Perps on both companies. For related coverage, see Witkoff Reports $107M in 2025 World Liberty Entity Income.
We've opened pre-IPO markets on OKX, starting with Pre-IPO X-Perps on both companies.
— Erald Ghoos, OKX
OKX brings OpenAI and Anthropic pre-IPO bets to Europe
The launch names two of the most closely watched private artificial-intelligence firms, OpenAI and Anthropic, as the reference companies for the first pre-IPO contracts available to European users. Neither company has announced an initial public offering, and the products give traders exposure only to implied valuations, not to any listed shares. For related coverage, see Alex Thorn: Liquid Address Rule Didn’t Stop Bitcoin Thieves.
Where European access applies
OKX identifies OKX Europe Markets Ltd as authorised and regulated by the Malta Financial Services Authority under Malta's Investment Services Act, Chapter 370. That is the exchange's own statement of its regulatory standing rather than an independently verified register entry, and it should not be read as approval of the specific contracts or as Europe-wide eligibility across every jurisdiction. For related coverage, see Trezor Email Breach Enabled Phishing From Its Own Domain.
The announcement frames the offering as a live launch for European users rather than a forthcoming product, distinguishing it from a roadmap teaser. Exact country eligibility, customer restrictions and settlement mechanics were not laid out in independently checkable legal terms.
This is not the only exchange pushing regulated equity-style exposure into the region. Bybit has also outlined plans for a European app spanning stocks and derivatives, underscoring how trading venues are racing to package traditional-market products for European crypto users.
What the OpenAI and Anthropic bets give traders exposure to
Product structure and ownership rights
The new pre-IPO contracts allow long and short positions on implied private-company valuations with up to 10x leverage, OKX says. The instruments are perpetual-style derivatives referencing a valuation, not tokenized equity or a claim on future shares.
The launch disclosure is explicit that Pre-IPO X-Perps confer no ownership or economic claim in the referenced company, and that prices may differ materially from private valuations or any eventual IPO price. An IPO for either firm may be delayed, cancelled or never happen at all.
Alongside the pre-IPO contracts, OKX also announced 100 tokenized-stock markets for European users at launch, trading 24/7, with examples including NVIDIA, Google, Palantir, SPY and QQQ. The same disclosure states that these Tokenized Stocks provide no direct ownership or shareholder rights, and that company names do not imply affiliation or endorsement.
Pricing, liquidity and settlement risks
Because the contracts reference implied valuations rather than traded shares, price formation depends on OKX's index and on trader positioning rather than on a public order book for the underlying company. OKX's promotional language around available liquidity is issuer framing; no order book, spread or depth measurement was published to support claims of depth for large trades.
The valuations these markets generate can run well ahead of any confirmed figure. Blockonomi reported on September 10 that September 9 crypto perpetual prices implied an Anthropic valuation of $2.12 trillion, a secondary figure whose underlying contracts and share-count assumptions were not independently verified and which predates OKX's European launch.
How OKX's move fits the pre-IPO trading trend
OKX reports that X-Perps volume in Europe has grown fourfold since the beginning of July. This is a claim about European X-Perps overall, not a measured pre-IPO-only volume series, and OKX did not publish the raw data or an absolute starting volume.
A separate OKX analysis dated September 4 reported that 49.6% of Stock X-Perps volume over the preceding eight weeks traded outside US cash hours, citing internal data. That figure points to demand for around-the-clock access rather than to pre-IPO-specific appetite, and it too is issuer-reported.
The distinction between growth in product availability and growth in genuine trader demand matters here. Launching 100 tokenized markets and two pre-IPO references expands what is on offer, but the fourfold figure measures overall European X-Perps volume, not the uptake of these newly listed contracts.
The launch lands amid a broader institutional push into crypto-adjacent equity exposure, from Nasdaq's $100 million investment in Kraken parent Payward to rival exchanges building out European stock and derivatives apps. For European traders, the concrete takeaway is narrow: leveraged, ownership-free exposure to two private AI names, wrapped in disclosures that stress these contracts carry no shareholder rights and may diverge sharply from any real valuation.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Cryptocurrency and digital asset markets carry significant risk. Always do your own research before making decisions.