MNX Launches Pre-IPO AI Futures to Compete With OKX and Bitget

Highlights

MNX, a cryptocurrency exchange developed by former Manifold executives, has launched futures contracts tied to private AI companies OpenAI, Anthropic, DeepSeek, and Moonshot. The contracts expire at the end of 2027 and do not carry recurring funding fees, distinguishing them from perpetual futures offered by competitors such as OKX and Bitget. Traders can use up to three times their available funds, magnifying potential gains and losses. Prices are based on activity on MNX, and settlement may rely on public valuations or, as a last resort, an exchange determination. The contracts do not represent ownership of private shares, and their settlement prices may differ from prices in private transactions.

Sentiment Analysis

• The article’s overall tone is neutral and explanatory. It describes MNX’s product, its differences from competing contracts, and the market rationale offered by investors and company representatives without endorsing the exchange.
• There is a cautiously positive element in the discussion of a potential gap between AI-related investment activity and the financial infrastructure available to investors. Village Global sees an opportunity to build markets around the AI economy, while MNX intends to expand beyond company valuations into related areas.
• The article also emphasizes material uncertainties and risks. Futures are not equivalent to private shares, prices are determined by trading on MNX, and settlement may use estimates or an exchange decision if a company remains private at expiry. Leverage can increase losses as well as profits, and the contracts may settle at prices that differ from private-market transaction values.
• Overall sentiment is best characterized as mixed but predominantly informational: the product represents a new market structure, while pricing, liquidity, settlement, and leverage create significant considerations for participants.

Article Text

MNX, a new cryptocurrency exchange developed by former executives of Manifold Markets, has launched futures contracts linked to the valuations of private artificial intelligence companies. The contracts cover OpenAI, Anthropic, DeepSeek, and Moonshot. They give traders a way to take positions on these companies’ valuations without purchasing shares, which may be difficult to access and trade because the businesses remain private.

The exchange went live on Tuesday. Its platform is built on the MegaETH blockchain, and it raised $6.4 million from investors led by Village Global in June. MNX enters a market where larger cryptocurrency exchanges, including OKX and Bitget, already offer contracts that allow traders to speculate on private AI companies. These products differ in their structure and how they handle contract duration and funding.

MNX’s contracts expire at the end of 2027 and do not incur recurring funding fees. By comparison, Bitget offers perpetual futures that do not expire. OKX also offers contracts without expiration dates, but employs a different funding mechanism. MNX says its fixed expiration and fee structure are better suited to assets for which prices can be hard to establish consistently.

That design reflects a challenge associated with private-company shares: transactions may be infrequent, and available prices can become outdated. Manifold Markets co-founder Stephen Gruggett said that secondary-market shares in OpenAI and Anthropic are illiquid and difficult to price. In his view, a perpetual contract based on stale prices may not behave as traders expect, may be susceptible to manipulation, and could carry a high or unpredictable funding rate.

Village Global’s investment thesis is that financial markets have not developed as quickly as the capital flowing into AI. Max Killberg of the firm said AI is driving one of the largest investment cycles in history while related financial infrastructure remains underdeveloped. He described the opportunity as building markets around AI, rather than simply supporting another prediction market.

MNX contracts are priced through trading activity on the exchange, rather than an external price feed. This makes the platform’s own market activity central to the quoted value. The exchange also describes how it will settle contracts if a company is still private when a contract expires. It may use publicly available valuations from funding rounds, investment funds, or secondary markets. If those sources are not sufficient, MNX can determine the settlement price itself, subject to a published review process.

A contract’s settlement value is not necessarily the price an investor could obtain in an actual private-share transaction. Public valuations and secondary-market indications may differ from the terms of a specific sale. The exchange’s role in determining a price as a last resort is another feature traders may need to consider when assessing the contracts.

Participants can use up to three times their available funds. Leverage increases exposure and can amplify both profits and losses. The exchange does not currently serve customers in the United States, although Gruggett said it plans to obtain the necessary licenses. The article does not indicate when that licensing process might be completed.

MNX also intends to develop markets connected to the broader AI economy, not just private-company valuations. Areas it has identified include company revenue, employment, housing, the AI supply chain, and computing capacity. These proposed markets would extend the platform’s scope to economic activity and infrastructure associated with AI adoption.

The wider investment backdrop is substantial but concentrated. The source cites Bitcoin Suisse’s Crypto Wealth Management Report 2026, which says the largest U.S. hyperscalers are expected to spend at least $800 billion this year and more than $1 trillion the next. The article presents this spending as evidence of the scale of investment in AI, while noting that exposure to the boom is concentrated among a limited number of technology companies.

In summary, MNX is introducing time-limited futures as an alternative to perpetual contracts for speculation on private AI-company valuations. Its model removes recurring funding fees but depends on exchange trading and defined settlement procedures. The product’s distinctive structure does not eliminate uncertainty around private-market prices, liquidity, leverage, or the difference between a contract settlement and the value of shares in a private transaction.

Key Insights Table