Tokenized equity offerings for OpenAI being offered to Robinhood users in Europe are not officially authorized by the company, the AI giant said in a social media post.
“These ‘OpenAI tokens’ are not OpenAI equity. We did not partner with Robinhood, were not involved in this, and do not endorse it,” OpenAI posted on X. “Any transfer of OpenAI equity requires our approval — we did not approve any transfer.”
The idea of tokenized equity in not-yet public companies is nothing new.
In 2018, a blockchain startup called Swarm said it would soon be offering tokenized shares in startups — including Robinhood.
Looking at Robinhood’s current tokenized offering, it’s unclear where the source of equity is. There is some speculation that the equity represents interest in OpenAI shares that have been already acquired via authorized channels, based on comments made by Robinhood’s CEO.
Speculation:
During the presentation, Vlad specifically mentioned having a relationship with a wealthy investor with OpenAI / SpaceX shares.
These shares could likely still be under the original investors name (either an individual, or an entity), which OpenAI has already… https://t.co/bfskaDWf5O— David Hoffman (@TrustlessState) July 2, 2025
Others have warned that OpenAI — and other startups — would be well within their rights not to honor the sale.
This highlights another risk on the private company side I didn’t address yesterday, but we often see in these secondary markets. There is no requirement for these companies to honor the sale of the equity you think you own – in fact I said recently at a private conference that I… https://t.co/nyzhjfgXwV
— Rob Hadick ＞|＜ (@HadickM) July 2, 2025
“I expect this natural tension to result in more private companies just cancelling equity sales altogether for those who violate their shareholders’ agreements,” Dragonfly General Partner Rob Hadick posted on X.
