The exclusive club of private company investing just got a new, rather unexpected, member. Injective, a Layer 1 blockchain, recently pulled back the curtain on a development that could reshape how everyday investors gain exposure to some of the world’s most talked-about private firms.
- Injective, a Layer 1 blockchain, is launching the world’s first private equity (Pre-IPO) perpetual futures markets, aiming to bring exposure to major private companies like OpenAI and SpaceX onto the blockchain.
- These perpetual futures have no expiry date, offering traders indefinite holding positions similar to stocks, and build upon Injective’s previous collaboration with Republic to democratize retail investing in private firms.
- The initial focus includes Pre-IPO shares of OpenAI, with plans to add other high-profile private tech companies in rapidly growing sectors like Data & AI, potentially democratizing early-stage investment opportunities.
I’m talking about companies like OpenAI, the brains behind ChatGPT, or Elon Musk’s ambitious SpaceX. These are names that usually sit behind velvet ropes, accessible only to big institutions or those with deep pockets. But Injective is changing the game, or at least trying to.
On Wednesday, Injective announced it is “launching the world’s first private equity (Pre-IPO) perpetual futures markets.” This isn’t just a fancy phrase. It means they’re bringing a slice of the massive $13+ trillion private equity market directly onto the blockchain. Anyone with an internet connection could potentially trade exposure to these major private companies.
Now, what exactly are “perpetual futures”? Think of a regular futures contract as a promise to buy or sell an asset at a set price on a specific future date. It has an expiry. These new perpetual futures, however, have no expiry date. You can hold your position indefinitely, much like owning a stock without a forced sell-by date. It offers a different kind of flexibility for traders.
This move by Injective isn’t entirely out of the blue. You might remember their announcement back in August. They teamed up with Republic, an investment platform, with a shared goal: to democratize retail investing in privately-held companies. Republic itself had plans in June to offer “Mirror Tokens,” which are blockchain-based financial instruments designed to track shares of private firms. It seems Injective is now building on that foundation, pushing the boundaries even further.
The initial focus for these new markets is quite compelling. Injective stated in a post on X that they are “starting off with access to Pre-IPO shares of OpenAI via major Injective apps such as @HelixMarkets.” They also promised that “many new companies becoming available over the course of October.” It’s a phased rollout, beginning with one of the most prominent names in artificial intelligence.
Beyond OpenAI, Injective mentioned a roster of other high-profile private tech companies. We’re talking about Anthropic, Perplexity, Monzo, xAI, Revolut, Airtable, and Notion. These aren’t obscure startups. These are firms often cited as leaders in their fields, many of them household names in the tech world.
Why these companies? Injective highlighted that they “represent the most valuable private startups in sectors experiencing explosive growth.” They specifically pointed to Data & AI, a sector that raised over $100 billion in 2024 alone. It’s clear Injective is targeting areas where innovation is rapid and investor interest is high, aiming to capture that excitement on-chain.
The idea of trading exposure to a private company before it goes public has always held a certain allure. It’s the chance to get in early, to potentially ride the wave of growth that often precedes an initial public offering (IPO). For many, this has been a distant dream, reserved for venture capitalists and institutional investors. Injective’s approach aims to bring that opportunity closer to the everyday crypto participant.
It’s also worth noting Injective’s recent activity in the broader real-world asset (RWA) space. Just last week, they reported a significant milestone. Over a 30-day period, $1 billion worth of RWA perpetual futures contracts were traded on their blockchain. This suggests a growing appetite for on-chain exposure to assets that exist outside the traditional crypto ecosystem.
Injective itself has some notable backers. It was incubated by Binance, one of the largest crypto exchanges. Its supporters also include Jump Crypto, Pantera, and even Mark Cuban. This kind of institutional and high-profile backing often lends a certain weight to a project’s ambitions, suggesting a serious play in the market.
So, what does this all mean for you, the curious reader? It means the lines between traditional finance and decentralized finance (DeFi) continue to blur. It means new avenues are opening up, allowing for different kinds of market participation. Whether these new markets will truly democratize access to private equity remains to be seen, but the door is certainly ajar.
It’s a bold move, bringing the whispers of private valuations into the open, transparent world of the blockchain. It invites us to consider how much more of the financial world might eventually find its way on-chain, and what that could mean for how we all invest.
