OpenAI firmly distanced itself from a token giveaway by Robinhood this week, clarifying that the “OpenAI tokens” handed out to European users do not represent equity in the company.
“We are not involved in this and do not endorse it,” OpenAI said in a social media post on Wednesday. “Any transfer of OpenAI equity requires our approval — we did not approve any transfer. Please be careful.”
The clarification came after Robinhood gave away $5 worth of tokenized OpenAI and SpaceX shares to eligible EU customers on Monday as part of a promotional campaign tied to the launch of its tokenized stock trading platform and a new layer-2 blockchain for settlement.
Robinhood later explained that the tokens offer “indirect exposure to private markets” through ownership stakes in special purpose vehicles (SPVs), and do not equate to actual equity or voting rights in the companies.
That distinction didn’t stop Elon Musk from lashing out. “Your ‘equity’ is fake,” Musk wrote on X, taking a swipe at OpenAI’s corporate model. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO, who co-founded OpenAI but left its board in 2018, has become an outspoken critic of its transition from nonprofit to for-profit. He is currently suing the company over alleged breaches of its original mission.
Robinhood’s push into tokenized real-world asset (RWA) trading refelcts a broader trend of blurring lines between traditional finance and crypto. The company first teased plans in May to introduce fractionalized tokenized assets to European users. No date has been set for a U.S. rollout.
Speaking at Consensus 2025 in Toronto, Robinhood Crypto’s GM Johann Kerbrat framed the move as part of the firm’s push to expand access to traditionally exclusive asset classes — such as private equity, credit, and commercial real estate — by making them tradable via crypto rails.
“These tokens allow retail investors to gain access to private markets that have historically been off-limits,” Kerbrat said.
Private equity and private credit markets are typically gated behind accreditation rules that require either high income or at least $1 million in investible assets, a bar far out of reach for most retail investors.
Robinhood’s tokenized offerings are enabled by SPVs, which hold real assets and issue tokens that represent a share of the underlying economic exposure, not actual ownership or voting rights.
Robinhood officially launched its new tokenization strategy and layer-2 blockchain at an event in Cannes, France on Monday, where CEO Vlad Tenev called crypto “the backbone of the future financial system.”
“Crypto is much more than a speculative asset,” Tenev said. “Tokenization allows us to rethink access, ownership, and value transfer across borders and asset classes.”
