Anthropic Reaffirms Ban on Unauthorized Stock Transfers and SPVs

Anthropic updated its investor-warning page on or before May 12, 2026. The AI company first published the page in February. The company states that any unapproved sale or transfer of its stock or any interest in its stock is void and will not be recognized on its books.

Anthropic does not permit special purpose vehicles, or SPVs, to acquire its stock, and any transfer of shares to an SPV is void under its transfer restrictions. Offers to invest in its past or future financing rounds through an SPV are prohibited. "This means that if someone purports to sell Anthropic shares without proper board approval, that transaction is invalid," the company stated on the updated page.

It added that any third party claiming to sell Anthropic shares to the general public through direct sales, forward contracts, tokenized securities or other mechanisms is likely either engaged in fraud or offering an investment that may have no value due to its transfer restrictions.

Several crypto exchanges have set up offerings for pre-IPO exposure to Anthropic, SpaceX and Polymarket over the past year. Some are synthetic pre-IPO perpetuals with no underlying shares held, while others involve SPVs or secondary-market holdings that more directly engage the company's transfer rules.

37 trillion. The platform was holding roughly $23 million in total assets. PreStocks’ terms of service state that buyers receive no equity or shareholder rights in the underlying company, only economic exposure tied to reserve backing.

John Montague, a Florida-based crypto lawyer, told CoinDesk last year that private companies may initiate lawsuits alleging that tokenized structures violate their governance documents, shareholders' agreements, investor rights agreements or bylaws. He added that he views it as the issuer’s right to control the terms of transfer. m.

Sam Reynolds wrote the article and Omkar Godbole edited it. CoinDesk reported these developments.