Ventuals Closes Hyperliquid Pre-IPO Markets and Returns HYPE

Ventuals Shuts Down On-Chain Pre-IPO Markets on Hyperliquid – Settlement Freezes Trading and Returns 500,000 HYPE to Users

Key Takeaways

• Ventuals has closed its on-chain pre-IPO trading platform and frozen its OPENAI and ANTHROPIC markets at 24-hour average prices.
• The platform reported more than $650 million in total trading volume and over 500,000 HYPE raised during its operation.
• All deposited HYPE can be withdrawn 1:1 plus accrued staking yield, according to the company.
• The team will fold into another Hyperliquid ecosystem project, which has not yet been named.

Ventuals Freezes Flagship Pre-IPO Markets and Halts Trading

Ventuals has shut down its on-chain pre-IPO derivatives platform, ending one of the first venues that allowed traders to take leveraged positions on the valuations of private companies such as OpenAI and Anthropic.

The closure was announced on the platform’s X account. As part of the wind-down, Ventuals froze its two flagship markets, OPENAI and ANTHROPIC, at their trailing 24-hour time-weighted average prices. OPENAI was fixed at $1,341.80 and ANTHROPIC at $1,618.90. Trading in these markets was halted at 10:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. ET respectively.

The time-weighted average price mechanism smooths short-term volatility by calculating an average over a defined period. In this case, it was used to determine final settlement values before permanent closure.

In addition to the pre-IPO markets, Ventuals operated commodity markets including WHEAT and SOY, as well as index markets such as MAG7 and SEMIS. These remaining markets are scheduled to settle on June 18.

User Funds and vHYPE Redemptions

Ventuals stated that every vHYPE holder can withdraw deposited HYPE at a 1:1 rate plus accrued staking yield. The platform described vHYPE as its liquid staking token and the receipt issued for HYPE deposited into the protocol.

Over its operating period, Ventuals reported raising more than 500,000 HYPE. At a reported market price of around $67 on Monday, this amount represents roughly $33 million. HYPE was trading up approximately 12 percent over 24 hours and about 64 percent over the past 30 days. The price movement was described as independent of the Ventuals closure, with builder-deployed markets continuing to generate activity on the Hyperliquid network.

By staggering settlement dates and using averaged pricing for final marks, the platform structured its shutdown as an orderly settlement process rather than an immediate halt. The points and referral programs have been discontinued, and Ventuals confirmed that no Ventuals token will be issued.

How Ventuals Structured Pre-IPO Exposure

Ventuals operated on Hyperliquid, a layer-one blockchain that enables external teams to deploy perpetual futures markets using the HIP-3 framework. Under this standard, outside builders can launch their own markets backed by a HYPE stake.

The platform offered synthetic, leveraged exposure to private company valuations. Traders did not acquire equity or tokenized shares. Instead, they traded perpetual derivatives that tracked a synthetic price linked to the perceived valuation of companies that are not publicly listed. Positions were settled in stablecoins rather than equity.

Ventuals described itself as the first on-chain derivatives protocol focused on private, pre-IPO company valuations. By using synthetic pricing instead of blockchain-wrapped shares, it positioned its products separately from tokenized-equity offerings. This distinction became relevant after Anthropic flagged wrapped versions of its private shares that had appeared on-chain as unauthorized.

Earlier this year, The Block reported that Ventuals compensated traders after its pre-IPO SpaceX perpetuals dropped 45 percent in a single session. The episode highlighted the sensitivity of price discovery in markets tied to private company valuations.

Pre-IPO Trading Activity Within the Hyperliquid Ecosystem

Ventuals was part of a broader wave of pre-IPO and tokenized-equity style activity on Hyperliquid. Trade.xyz launched the first pre-IPO perpetual market for SpaceX on the same network. Builder-deployed markets under the HIP-3 framework contributed to Hyperliquid reaching a record share of global perpetuals trading volume.

Demand for private-company exposure has also appeared beyond Hyperliquid. Polymarket introduced prediction markets on private-company valuations using Nasdaq data, and Citi rolled out tokenized private-company shares for wealth and institutional clients. These developments indicate interest in accessing valuations of companies such as OpenAI across both crypto-native and traditional financial platforms.

Ventuals reported more than $650 million in trading volume during its operation. The platform did not disclose how long it had been active. It also did not name the Hyperliquid ecosystem project that its team will join following the shutdown, nor did it provide a detailed timeline for that transition beyond the specified settlement dates.

Our Assessment

Ventuals has formally exited the on-chain pre-IPO derivatives market after processing more than $650 million in trading volume and raising over 500,000 HYPE. Its OPENAI and ANTHROPIC markets have been settled using 24-hour average pricing, and remaining commodity and index markets are set to close on June 18. Users can redeem deposited HYPE at a 1:1 rate plus staking yield. The team will integrate into another, unnamed Hyperliquid ecosystem project, marking the end of one of the network’s early pre-IPO trading venues.