OKX brings OpenAI and Anthropic bets to Europe as pre-IPO trading grows

OKX expanded its pre-IPO trading platform to Europe, offering European traders access to private-company valuations including stakes in OpenAI and Anthropic with up to 10x leverage, per CoinDesk. The crypto exchange is bundling the private-equity offerings alongside 100 tokenized stocks and ETFs, expanding its derivatives product suite as pre-IPO trading platforms gain traction among retail investors globally.

The move reflects OKX's strategy to diversify beyond spot and perpetual crypto trading into alternative assets. The exchange is leveraging tokenization to allow fractional ownership of pre-IPO equity—a model that has grown across the fintech ecosystem as retail demand for early-stage company exposure increases. By offering leverage on private valuations, OKX is targeting traders seeking outsized exposure to AI companies that remain private but carry high market expectations.

The European launch of this product line comes as pre-IPO trading platforms have normalized in retail trading. Brokers and exchanges have moved to capture this market segment, balancing regulatory compliance with investor appetite. The 10x leverage offering is particularly aggressive, amplifying both potential gains and losses on positions in companies like OpenAI and Anthropic, which have seen their private valuations soar amid the generative AI boom.

OKX, one of the world's largest crypto exchanges by trading volume, has been diversifying its offerings to include traditional assets and derivatives. The European expansion underscores the exchange's confidence in appetite for leveraged bets on late-stage private companies, even as regulators in various jurisdictions scrutinize the leverage and custody practices of crypto and alternative trading platforms.