Coinbase Expands Pre-IPO Trading with OpenAI and Anthropic Futures

Coinbase has expanded its pre-IPO trading platform by introducing perpetual futures tied to OpenAI and Anthropic, two leading artificial intelligence companies. The move allows eligible international traders to speculate on the firms' valuations before they reach public markets.

The new contracts, OPENAI-PERP and ANTHROPIC-PERP, were launched on June 22 and enable a range of trading functions, including market, limit, stop, and stop-limit orders. Unlike conventional perpetual futures, these contracts track valuation-based indexes rather than publicly traded shares, providing indirect exposure to changes in market expectations.

The growing demand for pre-IPO derivatives has intensified competition among major cryptocurrency exchanges, with Binance entering the segment earlier with similar contracts linked to private companies, including SpaceX and AI-focused firms. Analysts caution that pre-IPO futures carry unique risks, such as lower liquidity, heightened volatility, and uncertain valuation models.