OpenAI Warns That Tokenized Equity Sale on Robinhood Is Unauthorized

Tokenized equity offerings for OpenAI being offered to Robinhood users successful Europe are not officially authorized by the company, the AI elephantine said successful a societal media post.

"These 'OpenAI tokens' are not OpenAI equity. We did not spouse with Robinhood, were not progressive successful this, and bash not endorse it," OpenAI posted connected X. "Any transportation of OpenAI equity requires our support — we did not o.k. immoderate transfer."

Earlier this week, Robinhood announced it was launching tokenized banal trading based connected the Arbitrum blockchain to its users successful Europe. As CoinDesk reported earlier, users volition person entree to 200 equities and ETFs, arsenic good arsenic a secondary marketplace for equity successful blistery startups similar OpenAI and SpaceX.

The thought of tokenized equity successful not-yet nationalist companies is thing new.

In 2018, a blockchain startup called Swarm said it would soon beryllium offering tokenized shares successful startups — including Robinhood.

CoinDesk reported astatine the time that galore of the companies Swarm claimed it would beryllium offering equity successful pushed backmost and said specified a merchantability would beryllium unauthorized but Swarm said everything came from "approved secondary marketplace transactions."

Looking astatine Robinhood's existent tokenized offering, it's unclear wherever the root of equity is. There is immoderate speculation that the equity represents involvement successful OpenAI shares that person been already acquired via authorized channels, based connected comments made by Robinhood's CEO.

Others person warned that OpenAI — and different startups — would beryllium good wrong their rights not to grant the sale.

"I expect this earthy hostility to effect successful much backstage companies conscionable cancelling equity income altogether for those who interruption their shareholders' agreements," Dragonfly General Partner Rob Hadick posted connected X.

Robinhood did not respond to a petition for remark from CoinDesk.