Anthropic Warns of Risks From Unauthorized Tokenized Share Trading

Anthropic, the privately held AI company behind Claude, has become the subject of pre-IPO speculation through special purpose vehicles (SPVs). These vehicles hold private shares and issue tokens that let investors gain indirect exposure to the company’s valuation. Token holders, however, are not shareholders. If a share transfer lacks board approval, Anthropic may not recognize the underlying asset, while the token’s price may diverge from the value and liquidity of the actual equity.

Anthropic updated its investor warning on May 12, 2026, prohibiting SPV shareholdings and saying unauthorized direct sales, forward contracts and tokenized securities transactions were invalid. By May 13, PreStocks’ ANTHROPIC token had fallen 34% over seven days. The platform held about $23 million in total assets but implied an Anthropic valuation of more than $1.3 trillion, highlighting the gap between its pricing and asset backing.