The Bank of Lithuania announced on Monday that it has reached out to Robinhood to seek further information regarding its tokenized equity offerings. This inquiry follows concerns raised by OpenAI regarding the legitimacy of the product last week.
According to Giedrius Šniukas, a spokesperson for the Bank of Lithuania, “We have contacted Robinhood and are awaiting clarifications regarding the structure of OpenAI and SpaceX stock tokens as well as the related consumer communication,” as conveyed in an email to Finance Newso.
He added, “Only after receiving and evaluating this information will we be able to assess the legality and compliance of these specific instruments. The information for investors must be provided in clear, fair, and non-misleading language.”
The central bank of Lithuania serves as Robinhood’s lead regulator in the European Union following the issuance of a brokerage license and a crypto asset service provider license to the financial services firm. Finance Newso’s request for a comment from Robinhood went unanswered.
This development comes shortly after OpenAI publicly dissociated itself from Robinhood’s “Stock Tokens” offering. Introduced on June 30, this initiative allows users in the European Union to invest in shares through blockchain-based tokens, enabling access to investment opportunities even for privately held companies such as OpenAI and SpaceX.
Following the launch of Robinhood’s token offering, OpenAI expressed its concerns via the social media platform X, cautioning users that the “OpenAI tokens” were not equivalent to OpenAI equity.
OpenAI made it clear, “We did not partner with Robinhood, were not involved in this, and do not endorse it,” further asserting that “any transfer of OpenAI equity requires our approval — we did not approve any transfer” and advising users to approach the product with care.
In response to the alert from OpenAI, Robinhood stated last week that its stock tokens “give retail investors indirect exposure to private markets, opening up access, and are enabled by Robinhood’s ownership stake in a special purpose vehicle.”
