Operai says that Robinhood’s stock token launched without permission

Earlier this week, Robinhood announced a new set of characteristics in Europe, including “shares tokens”, digital assets that track the value of the main public and private companies. Among the listed chips was a linked to OpenAi and Spacex. But according to Openai, he was never consulted or involved in the launch.

“These ‘Tokens Operai’ are not Equity Openai,” said the company in an X (previously Twitter) publication. “We do not associate with Robinhood, we were not involved in this and we did not support it. Any operai equity transfer requires our approval, we do not approve of any transfer. Be careful.”

These “OpenAi chips” are not OpenAi equity. We do not associate with Robinhood, we were not involved in this and not support it. Any Operai equity transfer requires our approval: we do not approve of any transfer.

Please be careful. – Again Newsroom (@openainewsroom) July 2, 2025

Robinhood has clarified that these tokens do not represent real actions. Instead, they are linked to a special investment vehicle that has participation in companies. This configuration allows European retail investors to obtain indirect exposure to companies such as OpenAI, although these companies are still private and do not trade in the stock market.

“To limit our recent cryptographic event, we announced a limited stock token raffle in Operai and Spacex for eligible European clients,” said a Robinhouse spokesman. “These tokens are enabled by our property in a special purpose vehicle.”

The CEO of Robinhood, Vlad Tenev, responded to Openi’s publication, admitting that tokens are not “technically assets”, but insist that they still provide users with significant exposure to the private market value.

In our recent cryptographic event, we announced a limited stock token raffle in Openai and Spacex for eligible European clients. While it is true that they are not technically “equity” (you can see the precise dynamics in our terms for interested parties), tokens effectively give … – Vlad Tenev (@vladnev) July 2, 2025

The measure occurs when Robinhood tries to expand its presence in the European cryptographic and Fintech space, offering new ways for daily investors to participate in markets that have generally closed. But Openai’s reaction highlights the risks of using the name or image of a company in financial products without formal associations or clear consent.

After OpenAi’s statement, Robinhood’s shares fell approximately 2% in the first operations, withdrawing from a record closure of $ 97.98.

Also read: The SEC closes Robinhood Crypto’s investigation without action