Elon Musk, Sam Altman and Robinhood: A tug-of-war of tokenization?
Jul 04, 2025 pm 08:30 PMRobinhood launched OpenAI and SpaceX tokenized stocks caused controversy, with Elon Musk and Sam Altman fighting each other over the nature of the so-called "fake equity".
Recently, the intersection of Elon Musk, Sam Altman and Robinhood has become the focus of public attention, all of which stems from tokenized equity. Robinhood's launch of tokenized stocks in private companies such as OpenAI and SpaceX to European users has sparked heated debate and accompanied by clarification and criticism from all parties.
Robinhood's tokenized equity: A bold attempt?
Robinhood, led by CEO Vlad Tenev, announced it will offer OpenAI and SpaceX stock tokens to qualify for European customers. This move is intended to allow retail investors to participate in the private equity market indirectly. These tokens are realized through Robinhood's holdings in special purpose entities (SPVs). Teneff said that while these are not "equity" in the strict sense, they do provide investment opportunities in private equity assets. He also hints at a broader vision for the future of tokenization.
OpenAI's denial: This is not our shares!
However, OpenAI under Sam Altman quickly drew a line with these tokens. The company issued a formal statement emphasizing that these "OpenAI tokens" do not represent the company's equity, noting: "We have not cooperated with Robinhood and have not authorized such behavior. Any transfer of OpenAI equity requires our approval - and we have never approved it." They also reminded: "Be sure to be vigilant."
Elon Musk takes action implicitly
Elon Musk then joined the discussion. He commented on OpenAI tokens and said: "Your 'equity' is fake." This statement is not surprising given Musk's historical contradiction with Artman and OpenAI. Musk has been publicly questioning OpenAI's transformation from a nonprofit, especially after he left the founding board.
A bigger picture: Democratization or misleading of finance?
The core question is whether these tokenized assets have truly achieved financial democratization or whether there is a risk of misleading investors. Robinhood believes that this is opening a channel for retail investors to enter private enterprise investment. OpenAI is worried about misleading investment products under its brand.
Although Robinhood's original intention may be to allow more people to participate in the high-end investment field, the outside world is skeptical of it due to the lack of direct equity support and OpenAI's clear denial. Can these tokens really bring value? Or is it just a new way to create heat and increase revenue?
Wall Street's view
Despite the controversy, Wall Street appears to be positive about Robinhood's move. On July 2, HOOD's stock price rose 7% to $97.8. As of 2025, HOOD's stock price has risen by 150%, and has soared by 328% in the past year.
episode
Adding a different color to the incident, Vitalik Buterin expressed concerns about the digital identity system. The Ethereum co-founder pointed out that such digital ID projects could pose privacy risks and warned that they could cause all activities to be bound to a public identity, thereby weakening anonymity.
Conclusion
In the end, the tokenized equity battle surrounding Elon Musk, Sam Altman and Robinhood is a wonderful drama intertwined with innovation, doubt and traditional game. Whether it is an innovative attempt in the financial field or an alternative risk game remains to be seen. But what is certain is that in the world of technology rich and disruptive finance, there is never a shortage of dramatic plots. Get ready for popcorn and wait for the next scene to take place!
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