Kraken has launched cash-settled perpetual futures tied to the private-market valuations of OpenAI and Anthropic, giving eligible traders leveraged exposure before either artificial intelligence company completes a public listing. The contracts trade under PF_OPENAIXUSD and PF_ANTHROPICXUSD, support long and short positions, have no expiration date, and offer base maximum leverage of 5x with multi-collateral margin.
Because neither company has publicly traded shares, Kraken uses its own Kraken PreMarket Synthetic index, derived from perpetual market activity. The exchange applies exponential smoothing and clamps mark prices within a 0.25% band around the index to reduce liquidation risk from short-lived price spikes. Funding payments occur hourly, and larger positions face stepped-down leverage. Kraken warns that traders can lose all margin and that leveraged losses may exceed the initial deposit.
The products are not shares and carry no voting rights, dividends, or ownership. They are unavailable to customers in the U.S., European Economic Area, Canada, Australia and New Zealand; in the U.K., access is limited to professional clients. Payward Digital Solutions offers them from Bermuda under a Bermuda Monetary Authority license.
Kraken initially announced both products in June and promoted the Anthropic contract again on Sept. 6, 2026. If OpenAI or Anthropic completes an IPO, Kraken plans to replace the synthetic pricing with an index based on its tokenized equity xStocks product, with margin, position limits and funding rules expected to change. If no IPO occurs or reliable pricing is unavailable, Kraken may delist and settle the affected contract. Other platforms including Coinbase and Hyperliquid have offered similar private-company perpetuals, contributing to a growing market for pre-IPO synthetic exposure.
