PreStocks, a Solana-based platform offering tokenized exposure to private companies, said its live tokens remain "fully backed" after Anthropic warned that some stock-linked products may carry no value.
PreStocks responded in a May 15 post on X after Anthropic, the AI company behind Claude, warned investors against unauthorized sales of its private shares. Anthropic said any sale or transfer of its stock, or interest in its stock, offered by certain firms is "void and will not be recognized" on its books.
- Since Anthropic is a private company, its shares don't trade like Apple or Nvidia stock, so secondary platforms often use tokenized products to offer indirect exposure. But Anthropic claims those workarounds may not work without company approval.
"Any third party claiming to sell Anthropic shares to the general public — whether through direct sales, 'forward contracts,' tokenized securities, or other mechanisms — is likely either engaged in fraud or offering an investment that may have no value due to our transfer restrictions," the company said on its website.
PreStocks defends tokenized pre-IPO model
PreStocks pushed back by saying special-purpose vehicles, or SPVs, have been common in pre-IPO secondary markets for more than a decade.
It noted that its tokens are Reg S debt instruments issued outside the U.S. and available only to eligible non-U.S. users. It also highlighted that tokenholders get "economic exposure," not a place on a private company's cap table.
PreStocks also said it reduces counterparty risk by avoiding "3rd or lower layer SPVs," verifying ownership up to the cap table and checking fund managers before tokenization. It said minting and redemption require eligibility checks and KYC.
- The warning hit prices anyway. Anthropic PreStocks fell 34% over the past week, while OpenAI PreStocks dropped 39%, per data from crypto price aggregators reviewed by The Coinformer.
- Liquidity also remains thin. Data from GeckoTerminal shows Anthropic PreStocks has about $2 million in its main ANTHRP and USDC pool on Meteora, while several other pools were much smaller, with tens of thousands of dollars or less.