The exchange said the new contracts allow eligible traders to take long or short positions on two of the most closely watched private artificial intelligence companies before any public listing. The products offer up to 5x leverage, according to Kraken’s announcement.
TL;DR Kraken has launched pre-IPO perpetual futures for OpenAI and Anthropic. Eligible traders can access up to 5x leverage. The products offer exposure to private AI companies before public listings. The contracts carry unique risks tied to private valuations, liquidity, and IPO timing. Crypto Derivatives Meet Private AI ExposureOpenAI and Anthropic are two of the most sought-after private companies in the world. Direct exposure to their equity is typically limited to insiders, venture funds, private secondary markets, and selected institutional investors.
Kraken’s new pre-IPO perps attempt to turn that demand into a tradable derivatives product. Instead of buying private shares directly, eligible traders can take synthetic exposure through perpetual futures contracts.
That is a notable shift. Crypto derivatives platforms are no longer only offering exposure to digital assets. Increasingly, they are experimenting with markets tied to private companies, real-world assets, political events, and other off-chain narratives.
For traders, the attraction is obvious. AI has become one of the most powerful investment themes in global markets, and many public-market investors have been unable to access the highest-profile private names directly.
How Pre-IPO Perps Differ From Normal Crypto PerpsA Bitcoin or Ethereum perpetual future tracks an asset that trades continuously in liquid spot markets. That gives exchanges plenty of reference data for pricing, funding, and liquidation mechanics.
Pre-IPO private-company exposure is more complicated.
Private companies do not have the same transparent, continuous market price as public stocks or major crypto assets. Their valuations can depend on funding rounds, secondary transactions, internal marks, and expectations around future IPO timing.
That makes risk management more complex. If the expected listing timeline changes, if private-market valuations move sharply, or if demand dries up, the contract may behave differently from a standard crypto perp.
Kraken’s 5x leverage feature makes those risks more important. Leverage can amplify gains, but it also magnifies losses and liquidation risk. Traders who treat pre-IPO perps like standard crypto momentum products may underestimate how different the underlying exposure is.
Why This Launch MattersThe launch shows how crypto trading infrastructure is expanding beyond tokens. Exchanges are trying to become broader venues for speculative and alternative exposure, especially in markets that traditional retail investors struggle to access.
That could be powerful, but it also raises questions about investor protection, disclosures, pricing sources, and liquidity depth.
For Kraken, the product fits a wider push into derivatives and trader-focused markets. For users, it offers a new way to express a view on AI leaders before their public listings.
The safer interpretation is not that pre-IPO perps make private markets simple. They do not. The key point is that crypto-native derivatives are moving into areas that used to sit behind private-market walls.
That makes the product interesting — and risky enough that traders should understand exactly what they are trading before touching leverage.
