A new generation of exchange-traded products across the United States and Europe is providing investors with synthetic exposure to private artificial intelligence companies such as OpenAI and Anthropic ahead of their public offerings.
Two products introduced this month employ crypto-perpetual-linked derivatives to mirror the implied valuations of these firms, allowing investors to participate in their price movements without holding direct equity.
While this method integrates cryptocurrency market pricing into conventional investment vehicles, the reference values may not align with the prices paid in private share transactions.
Bridging the Pre-IPO Access Gap with Crypto Derivatives
For most investors, gaining access to private companies such as OpenAI and Anthropic has historically been difficult. Share availability is frequently restricted, and secondary-market transactions can be complex to execute.
Crypto derivatives present an alternative path to pre-IPO exposure. Instead of purchasing private shares directly, investors can use exchange-traded products whose returns are tied to derivative prices based on the companies’ implied valuations.
Cryptocurrency exchanges such as Binance offer perpetual futures markets tied to these companies’ implied valuations, while financial firms such as FalconX assist in structuring transactions that connect derivative pricing to investment products.
These contracts do not determine the actual transaction price for private shares. Their values reflect trading activity and market sentiment, which may diverge from valuations established through private funding rounds or secondary-market sales.
Wall Street Meets Crypto: Notable Product Launches
This trend emerged in October through a series of regulatory filings and fund listings on exchanges worldwide.
In early October, the Corgi MANGOS ETF (MN) commenced trading on the Cboe BZX Exchange. The actively managed fund holds large-cap technology equities such as Meta, Nvidia, and Alphabet, complemented by cash-settled total return swaps. These swaps deliver synthetic economic exposure to OpenAI and Anthropic based on underlying crypto perpetual reference rates.
Shortly thereafter, the 21Shares Anthropic Synthetic ETP (CLAU) launched on the Vienna MTF, providing unleveraged exposure to Anthropic’s pre-IPO valuation. The product, structured through debt notes, tracks a Kaiko benchmark index derived from Binance perpetual futures.
Tuttle Capital further expanded the frontier on October 26 by filing registration statements for six leveraged derivative ETFs aimed at high-profile private entities, including SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic. The funds seek twice the daily performance of an underlying synthetic basket.
Risks: Synthetic Exposure, Not Direct Ownership
Although these instruments broaden access to pre-IPO price movements, they carry significant risks.
Investors do not hold actual shares in OpenAI or Anthropic and receive no shareholder voting rights. Perpetual contracts reflect speculative sentiment rather than verified primary funding rounds, and prices may deviate from valuations implied by private transactions, especially in thin trading conditions.
Additionally, these products may involve funding costs and counterparty risk, where the failure of the other party to meet its obligations could impact returns over time.
Implications for the Future of Financial Markets
Integrating crypto derivatives into mainstream investment products may unlock new pathways for investors to access private companies prior to their public listings. If synthetic pre-IPO products can reliably track private valuations and sustain sufficient trading activity, they could reshape how investors engage with private markets ahead of public offerings.
