In late June 2025 Robinhood began offering tokenised stocks to users in Europe and, for the first time, tokens tied to private companies OpenAI and SpaceX. The move, enabled by the EU's looser retail-investor rules, sent Robinhood's shares up sharply to a record high.
But OpenAI quickly warned that the 'OpenAI tokens' were not OpenAI equity and that it had not endorsed the product. The Bank of Lithuania, Robinhood's lead EU regulator, said it was awaiting clarification on how the tokens were structured.
What does a token really represent?
The episode highlighted the central risk of tokenisation: a token is only as legitimate as the legal claim behind it. When the link between token and underlying asset is opaque, or the underlying company disowns it, investors can be left holding an instrument whose rights are unclear. It is a cautionary counterpoint to well-structured, fully backed tokenisation efforts.
Exposure to a private company is not equity in it
Derivative exposure referencing a private valuation depends on the issuer's ability to hedge and on marks that are updated infrequently.
Regulators in the EU questioned the framing quickly, which suggests the product's future depends more on disclosure language than on demand.
