Anthropic Warns Investors: Tokenized Shares Are Invalid, Crypto AI Tokens Crash 34%

Crypto investors are facing significant losses after Anthropic, the company behind the multi-billion-dollar AI model Claude, issued a legal notice clarifying that unauthorized tokenized shares are invalid and will not be recognized on its corporate records.

The company’s updated webpage explicitly states:

“Any sale or transfer of Anthropic stock, or any interest in Anthropic stock, that has not been approved by our Board of Directors is void and will not be recognized on our books and records.”

Anthropic’s statement targeted unauthorized share transfers, including those linked to special purpose vehicles (SPVs), forward contracts, and tokenized securities. The notice effectively invalidated many crypto tokens claiming to represent Anthropic shares, including perpetual contracts (perps), non-fungible tokens (NFTs), real-world assets (RWAs), and memecoins.

PreStocks’ ANTHROPIC Token Crashes 34% After Legal Notice

PreStocks, a Solana-based platform offering tokenized exposure to Anthropic, saw its ANTHROPIC token surge 6X over the past year, from $235 to an all-time high of $1,409. However, the token crashed by 34% within hours of Anthropic’s legal notice and continued to decline as of the time of writing.

PreStocks marketed its ANTHROPIC token as “1:1 backed by SPV exposure to the underlying company shares.” The fine print revealed that the token represented a contractual claim on an SPV, not actual shares recorded on Anthropic’s corporate ledger. The SPV lacked Anthropic’s permission for subsequent transfers or resales, rendering the tokens worthless as share representations.

Legal Implications: Transfers Deemed Void Under Delaware Law

Crypto attorney Gabriel Shapiro noted that Anthropic’s language was the most aggressive available under Delaware corporate law. By treating unauthorized transfers as void rather than voidable, Anthropic stripped secondary buyers of equitable defenses, emphasizing that real share transfers require board approval.

List of Unauthorized Resellers Named by Anthropic

Anthropic identified several platforms and intermediaries selling unauthorized tokenized shares, including:

• Unicorns Exchange
• Pachamama
• Forge
• Lionheart Ventures
• Sydecar
• Upmarket
• Open Door Partners
• Hiive

Investors who purchased Anthropic exposure through these entities are not recognized as actual stockholders by Anthropic, according to the company’s legal notice.

Podcaster Highlights Crypto’s Recklessness with NFTs

Podcaster Gwart criticized the crypto industry’s misuse of asset representation, stating:

“If you make an NFT of an Anthropic share and then Dario’s lawyers write a cease and desist letter destroying that share, you still have that share if it’s on the blockchain. What NFT is doing to the concept of asset, few understand.”

The incident underscores the risks of investing in tokenized securities without verifying legal backing or corporate approval. Blockchain tokens, no matter how sophisticated, cannot override corporate governance rules or legal ownership structures.