Crypto exchange MNX takes on OKX, BitGet offers pre-IPO futures for AI giants.

MNX offers a different way to trade the future valuations of private AI companies including OpenAI, Anthropic and DeepSeek.

A new cryptocurrency exchange is allowing investors to speculate on the valuation of private artificial intelligence (AI) giants such as OpenAI and Anthropic when they go public.

MNX, developed by Manifold Markets, went live on Tuesday, offering futures contracts related to OpenAI, Anthropic, DeepSeek and Moonshot. Built on the MegaETH blockchain, the platform raised $6.4 million from investors led by Village Global in June.

Larger crypto exchanges, including OKX and Bitget, already offer contracts that allow traders to bet on the value of private AI companies without owning their shares.

Unlike Bitget's perpetual futures contracts, which never expire, MNX offers contracts with an expiration date at the end of 2027 and incurs no funding costs. OKX also offers contracts without an expiration date, but uses a different financial mechanism.

According to Village Global, this investment is a bet that financial markets have yet to catch up with the huge amount of money pouring into artificial intelligence.

"AI is driving one of the biggest investment cycles in history, despite the fact that the financial infrastructure around it is not fully developed," said Village Global's Max Kilberg. He said the company sees an opportunity to develop financial markets around AI, rather than simply supporting another prediction market.

Stephen Gergett, founder of Manifold Markets, told CoinDesk that MNX's approach is better suited to private companies like OpenAI and Anthropic, whose shares are traded infrequently and difficult to price.

"OpenAI, Anthropic's secondaries are illiquid and difficult to price," he said. An interest based on an illiquid and meaningless price is worse than meaningless: it doesn't behave as investors expect; It is easy to manipulate and may have very high and unpredictable investment rates.”

Traders can also use up to three times their available funds, increasing potential profits and losses.

Prices are determined based on trading activity on MNX rather than external price feeds. If a company remains private after its deal expires, the exchange uses publicly available valuations from financing rounds, venture capital funds or secondary markets. As a last resort, MNX can set the settlement price itself, subject to a review published by Princess.

This means that traders can end up settling their bets at a different price than what investors might pay for the stock in a private transaction.

The exchange does not currently serve US clients, although Gregg said it plans to obtain the necessary permits.

MNX also aims to provide markets across the AI economy, including corporate income, employment, housing, AI supply chains and computing capacity.

Artificial intelligence has become a huge investment sponge, although exposure to the boom has been concentrated in a handful of tech companies. The largest U.S. hyperscaler is expected to spend at least $800 billion this year and more than $1 trillion next year, Swiss Bitcoin Crypto Wealth Management 2026 report shows.

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