OpenAI and Anthropic Announce Comprehensive Crackdown on Secondary Market Trading: Unauthorized SPV Investments to be Nullified
According to Datum Beat monitoring, two AI giants with a combined valuation approaching $2 trillion are simultaneously cleaning up their cap tables on the eve of their IPOs.
OpenAI today published a formal policy on its website, announcing that all unauthorized equity transfers are deemed invalid, including direct transfers, SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle) shares, tokenized ownership, and forward contracts. Parties involved in these transfers will not receive any economic value and may also violate U.S. securities laws. As early as August 2025, OpenAI had publicly warned investors to beware of unauthorized SPV scams, and this move now formalizes the rules.
Anthropic has also tightened its policy. The company directly used the term "void" instead of "voidable" on its equity trading policy page. Cryptocurrency lawyer Gabriel Shapiro pointed out that this is the most aggressive legal stance under Delaware corporate law: a voidable transaction can be rescued, but a void transaction is legally considered to have "never occurred." Sellers can retain both the shares and the money received, while buyers can only seek recourse upstream. Anthropic specifically named several platforms, including Open Door Partners, Unicorns Exchange, Forge Global, and Hiive, announcing that shares purchased through these channels do not carry any shareholder rights.
This crackdown comes against the backdrop of a frenzied secondary market. In February of this year, Anthropic's primary financing valuation was $3.8 trillion, but the secondary market has surged to around $10 trillion. OpenAI is valued at $852 billion. Both companies plan to go public in the fourth quarter of this year, cleaning up their cap tables from uncontrolled "wild shareholders" before listing. This move is both a compliance requirement and a bid for pricing power.
Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.
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