ETFs use ‘perps’ to offer bets on private companies such as Anthropic and OpenAI
A string of new exchange-traded products is using perpetual futures ('perps'), which were cleared to trade in the US only in May 2026, to give investors exposure to unlisted companies such as Anthropic and OpenAI. This month Leverage Shares (Themes ETFs, including a 'MANGOS' ETF covering Meta, Anthropic, Nvidia, Alphabet, OpenAI and SpaceX) and Corgi Funds launched US ETFs that hold total return swaps linked to perps on Anthropic and OpenAI; Defiance ETFs has filed for a fund with 80% in 'pre-IPO leaders'; and 21Shares has listed an Anthropic Synthetic ETP in Vienna and Stuttgart. Because private companies have no observable share price, venues such as Binance, Coinbase and Hyperliquid compute their own reference prices from market makers' bids and offers, sometimes guided by external indications of value. When a company floats, the perp turns into a future tracking the listed share price, and Themes ETFs' Paul Marino says the fund then switches to the actual shares. 21Shares CEO Russell Barlow calls perps potentially 'the next big innovation in financial markets', and NovaDius's Nate Geraci says usage could 'absolutely explode'. Counterweights: Better Markets' Benjamin Schiffrin says 'they are essentially bets' and 'the perpetual future itself is making up the reference price'; Morningstar's Kenneth Lamont fears investors will misunderstand what they own and warns of manipulation in small, illiquid markets; investors own no underlying shares; and regulators are urged to take a hard look. These perps carry no leverage. The FT gives no AUM, fees or volumes, and no reaction from OpenAI or Anthropic.
Why it matters
This is a new public-market price signal for the most-watched private companies, set by crypto-style venues and not by funding rounds, tenders or secondaries. For Dealroom it raises the question of how such synthetic marks compare with real round valuations, and it is a test case for retail access to pre-IPO tech. With Anthropic's IPO filing now made, the gap between perp prices and the eventual listing price will show how reliable these marks are. Critics' warnings about made-up reference prices and thin liquidity mean the marks should be treated as sentiment, not valuation.
Executive takeaways
Instrument: perpetual futures on private companies, cleared to trade in the US only in May 2026; ETFs get exposure through total return swaps linked to the perps. | • Products: Leverage Shares/Themes ETFs (incl. 'MANGOS': Meta, Anthropic, Nvidia, Alphabet, OpenAI, SpaceX) and Corgi Funds launched US ETFs this month; Defiance ETFs filed for an 80% 'pre-IPO leaders' fund; 21Shares lists an Anthropic Synthetic ETP in Vienna and Stuttgart. | • Pricing: Binance, Coinbase and Hyperliquid set reference prices from market-maker bids/offers, sometimes guided by external value indications; no observable underlying price exists. | • At IPO: perps convert into futures tracking the listed share; Themes ETFs says its fund then switches into real shares. | • Bulls: 21Shares' Russell Barlow ('next big innovation'); NovaDius's Nate Geraci (usage could 'absolutely explode'). | • Bears: Better Markets ('essentially bets'; the perp 'is making up the reference price'); Morningstar's Kenneth Lamont (investor misunderstanding, manipulation risk if illiquid). | • Limits: no underlying shares owned; no leverage in these perps; regulators urged to look hard.
What Financial Times may be missing
The FT gives no assets under management, fees, trading volumes or swap counterparties, so it is impossible to tell whether this is a niche experiment or real flows. It does not compare perp-implied prices with the companies' latest primary rounds, tender offers or secondary trades, which is the key test of whether the reference prices track anything real. It does not name the US regulator or rulebook behind the May 2026 authorisation, or say how the swaps are collateralised. There is no comment from OpenAI or Anthropic, although private companies typically restrict share transfers and may object to synthetic exposure they do not control. The article also does not address what happens if a company never lists, is acquired, or prices its IPO far from the perp level, or how the switch into real shares would be executed at scale.
