Anthropic, the artificial intelligence company behind the Claude chatbot, is now trading in a new tokenized market that values the private firm at nearly $2 trillion. The valuation, however, has drawn skepticism from some fund managers who question whether the numbers add up.
The tokenized market allows investors to speculate on the company’s future valuation through perpetual futures contracts. These derivatives, which have no expiration date, are pricing Anthropic at a level that far exceeds its most recent private funding round. That round, completed earlier this year, valued the company at roughly $60 billion.
Perpetual futures tied to Anthropic have become a niche but active corner of the crypto-asset space. Traders use these contracts to bet on the company’s worth without holding shares in the private firm. The pricing mechanism relies on a mix of market sentiment and data from secondary private market transactions.
Some market participants view the $2 trillion figure as a forward-looking estimate. They argue that Anthropic’s rapid revenue growth and its position in the competitive AI sector justify a premium. Others, however, point to the lack of transparency in private company valuations as a key reason for caution.
Fund managers remain split on the issue. A number of institutional investors have expressed doubts, noting that the tokenized market is thin and prone to volatility. They also highlight that perpetual futures often reflect speculative behavior rather than fundamental business performance.
The discrepancy between the public tokenized price and private market signals creates a complex landscape for investors. While the private market leans on direct negotiations and financial audits, the tokenized market depends on trading flows and algorithmic adjustments. These two systems can diverge sharply in the short term.
For everyday observers, the situation underscores how the line between public and private markets is blurring. Tokenization is opening new avenues for retail access to companies that were once off-limits. That shift brings both opportunities and risks, depending on how accurately these instruments track real-world value.
Anthropic has not commented on the tokenized market or the $2 trillion valuation. The company continues to focus on expanding its AI products and enterprise partnerships. Whether the tokenized price will ever align with a formal valuation remains an open question.
As the market matures, regulatory scrutiny could increase. Agencies have yet to establish clear rules for tokenized perps tied to private equities. Until then, traders and fund managers alike will have to navigate a space that is both innovative and unproven.
