Robinhood’s tokenized shares not backed by OpenAI, warns ChatGPT creator

Robinhood’s attempt to tokenize shares of buzzy private companies just hit a wall. OpenAI is distancing itself from the trading app after it began offering what it called “OpenAI tokens” to users in Europe, without any involvement or consent from the ChatGPT maker.
The announcement comes just two days after Robinhood rolled out tokenized stocks in Europe, giving EU users access to U.S. shares like OpenAI and SpaceX.
In a post on X, OpenAI wrote: “These ‘OpenAI tokens’ are not OpenAI equity. We did not partner with Robinhood, were not involved in this, and do not endorse it.”
These “OpenAI tokens” are not OpenAI equity. We did not partner with Robinhood, were not involved in this, and do not endorse it. Any transfer of OpenAI equity requires our approval—we did not approve any transfer.
Please be careful.
— OpenAI Newsroom (@OpenAINewsroom) July 2, 2025
OpenAI Slams Robinhood: “These ‘OpenAI Tokens’ are Not OpenAI Equity”
The statement didn’t stop there. OpenAI warned that “any transfer of OpenAI equity requires our approval — we did not approve any transfer,” adding, “please be careful.”
Robinhood announced the launch on Monday at an event in Cannes, France, highlighting a broader push into crypto, staking, and tokenized equities. The new offering included tokenized shares of OpenAI and SpaceX, and it was enough to send Robinhood’s stock price soaring past $100 to hit an all-time high.
“These tokens give retail investors indirect exposure to private markets, opening up access, and are enabled by Robinhood’s ownership stake in a special purpose vehicle,” a Robinhood spokesperson said in response to OpenAI’s post.
The platform offered 5 euros worth of OpenAI and SpaceX tokens to eligible users in the EU who signed up to trade tokenized stocks by July 7. The assets were issued through Robinhood’s crypto platform under the EU’s more relaxed investor regulations.
“This is about expanding access,” said Johann Kerbrat, Robinhood’s SVP and GM of crypto. “The goal with tokenization is to let anyone participate in this economy.”
But the backlash from OpenAI reveals the friction between crypto platforms trying to bring private equity to retail traders and the companies whose names are being used to sell those tokens. In OpenAI’s case, it’s clear the company doesn’t want its equity floated on-chain without its blessing.
U.S. users won’t be able to access these tokens due to regulatory limits.
The incident raises bigger questions about how crypto firms plan to handle tokenized equity—and how far they’re willing to go without the original companies on board.
On Monday, Robinhood launched tokenized versions of over 200 U.S. stocks and ETFs for customers in the European Union. That means EU users can now trade shares of companies like Nvidia, Apple, and Microsoft — 24 hours a day, five days a week, without paying commissions.
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