Bitget adds OpenAI-linked preOPAI to IPO Prime platform

Bitget has added OpenAI-linked preOPAI to its IPO Prime platform, marking the second product on the platform.

The product gives users tokenised exposure to OpenAI ahead of any public listing, with a minimum entry point of USD $100. Republic is issuing the token on Solana, and the structure is designed to track OpenAI's economic performance after a future stock market debut.

The move extends Bitget's push to bring pre-IPO investing into crypto through tradable digital tokens rather than the conventional private-market route. It targets a market long dominated by institutional investors, wealthy individuals and specialist funds, where allocations are often difficult to secure and capital can be tied up for extended periods.

Under the exchange's model, users who receive allocations will be able to trade the tokens on the spot market once distribution is complete. Holders will also have the option, about six months after any OpenAI flotation, to redeem their tokens into stock-linked assets or USDT based on market pricing.

Bitget is positioning the offering as part of a broader effort to combine crypto trading, tokenised traditional financial products and pre-IPO instruments on one platform. It describes that strategy as a "Universal Exchange" model, although the latest announcement focuses on widening access to private-company exposure through digital assets.

Growing interest

OpenAI has become one of the most closely watched companies in artificial intelligence as investor appetite for AI businesses has surged. Bitget linked the launch to what it called a USD $4 trillion AI opportunity, arguing that access to such themes has largely remained closed to retail investors.

Pre-IPO trading tied to private companies has become an area of experimentation for crypto groups trying to bridge digital assets and traditional capital markets. The main selling point is liquidity: rather than waiting for a company to list to realise value, holders can trade the tokenised exposure earlier, although the instruments do not represent direct equity ownership.

That distinction is important. IPO Prime products are structured to reflect economic outcomes rather than direct share ownership, with issuance handled through a regulated partner. Bitget presented that arrangement as a more formal framework than many token launches in the market.

The latest listing follows the earlier launch of preSPAX, a product linked to SpaceX. Bitget said that first product attracted more than 13,000 subscribers and reached a total commitment value of USD $171 million, indicating demand for tokenised access to high-profile private companies.

Platform strategy

Bitget says it serves more than 125 million users and offers access to crypto tokens and tokenised versions of traditional assets, including stocks, exchange-traded funds, commodities, foreign exchange and precious metals. The exchange has been expanding beyond core crypto trading as competition intensifies among platforms seeking new revenue streams and broader user activity.

For exchanges, products tied to household names such as OpenAI and SpaceX can attract traders seeking exposure to private companies with strong public interest. They also test how far tokenised structures can replicate economic exposure in a form retail users find straightforward to trade.

Questions around regulation, settlement and investor protections remain central to the market. While Bitget emphasised regulatory alignment through Republic, tokenised pre-IPO products still sit at the intersection of securities rules, crypto market practice and platform-specific terms, making structure and disclosure critical.

The commitment window for preOPAI will be followed by allocation and then spot trading. That sequence gives the product a launch process closer to a token sale than a conventional private-market share placement, underlining how crypto venues are adapting familiar investment themes into tradable blockchain-based formats.

Gracy Chen, Chief Executive Officer of Bitget, outlined the company's rationale for the move.

"The way people access markets is changing," Chen said. "We're moving toward a system where different asset classes and opportunities come together on one platform, and where access is no longer limited by structure. That's the direction we see for the future of finance, and what we are building toward here at Bitget, the Universal Exchange."