OpenAI Denies Endorsing Robinhood's Token Distribution

OpenAI has issued a statement clarifying that the tokens distributed to European users by the trading platform Robinhood do not represent equity in the company. The statement, released on Wednesday, emphasized that OpenAI was not involved in the distribution and did not endorse it. Representatives of the company wrote on social media, "Any transfer of OpenAI equity requires our approval — we did not approve any transfer. Please be careful."

Robinhood had distributed $5 worth of OpenAI and SpaceX tokens to clients in the EU region on Monday as part of its push into tokenized stock trading. This initiative included the launch of a layer-2 blockchain network to settle tokenized equity trades. According to Robinhood, the token giveaways were restricted to "eligible European customers" and were intended to give retail investors indirect exposure to private markets, opening up access to these markets. This was enabled by Robinhood’s ownership stake in a special purpose vehicle.

Elon Musk, co-founder of SpaceX and OpenAI, took the opportunity to criticize OpenAI’s corporate structure. In a post on X, Musk stated, "Your 'equity' is fake." Musk left OpenAI's board in 2018 and has since been vocal about what he perceives as a shift from a nonprofit, mission-driven model to a profit-first model. He has filed lawsuits accusing OpenAI of breaching its charter and diverting charitable assets for private gain.

Robinhood first announced plans to introduce tokenized stock trading for European customers in May 2025. No specific date or timeline has been given for a US rollout. Speaking at an event, senior vice president and general manager of Robinhood Crypto Johann Kerbrat highlighted that the integration of tokenized real-world assets on the platform promotes financial inclusion. This move is part of a broader effort by crypto exchanges to integrate tokenized stocks, government securities, corporate bonds, and other traditional assets into their platforms, blurring the line between traditional and digital finance.

Robinhood argues that tokenization opens up previously inaccessible asset classes like private equity, private credit, and commercial real estate investing to the general public through the magic of asset fractionalization. Private equity and private credit are typically reserved for accredited investors who have $1 million or more in investible assets or meet the annual income and licensing requirements of accreditation under EU and US regulations, making them prohibitive to average retail investors.

The company announced the rollout of its layer-2 blockchain network and tokenized real-world asset trading during an event in Cannes, France on Monday. CEO and co-founder Vlad Tenev stated, "Crypto is much more than a speculative asset, it has the potential to become the backbone of the global financial system."