In the first cold war between America and the Soviet Union, the two superpowers fought each other by proxy. Something similar is happening in America’s trade war with China. After conciliatory talks in Geneva and London, the two sides are no longer bashing each other with new tariffs. Instead, America is waging its war indirectly, through unfortunate third countries. More
In the first cold war between America and the Soviet Union, the two superpowers fought each other by proxy. Something similar is happening in America’s trade war with China. After conciliatory talks in Geneva and London, the two sides are no longer bashing each other with new tariffs. Instead, America is waging its war indirectly, through unfortunate third countries. More
In the first cold war between America and the Soviet Union, the two superpowers fought each other by proxy. Something similar is happening in America’s trade war with China. After conciliatory talks in Geneva and London, the two sides are no longer bashing each other with new tariffs. Instead, America is waging its war indirectly, through unfortunate third countries. More
In a CNBC interview Tuesday, Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev defended the company’s OpenAI and SpaceX stock tokens, given concerns over how they’re structured.
Last week, OpenAI issued a warning that Robinhood’s stock tokens do not represent equity in the company.
“In and of itself, I don’t think it’s entirely relevant that it’s not technically an equity instrument,” Tenev said.
Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev says it’s not “entirely relevant” that the trading platform’s so-called tokenized shares of OpenAI and SpaceX aren’t technically equity in the companies.
It comes after OpenAI raised concerns about the product, which is designed to give users in the European Union exposure to various U.S. stocks — including private companies, which are less liquid than publicly listed firms.
OpenAI last week warned that Robinhood’s stock tokens do not represent equity in the company and said in a post on X that, “any transfer of OpenAI equity requires our approval — we did not approve any transfer.”
Robinhood says its OpenAI stock tokens are “enabled by Robinhood’s ownership stake in a special purpose vehicle.”
“It is true that these are not technically equity,” Tenev, who co-founded Robinhood in 2013 with fellow entrepreneur Baiju Bhatt, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” Tuesday, echoing his initial response to OpenAI’s concerns.
Tenev said that OpenAI’s complex company structure enables institutional investors to gain exposure to the company through “various instruments, like equity upon the event of a conversion to a for-profit at a later date.”
OpenAI was initially founded as a non-profit organization. However, it has since evolved to include a for-profit entity, which is owned by the non-profit.
“In and of itself, I don’t think it’s entirely relevant that it’s not technically an equity instrument,” he said. “What’s important is that retail customers have an opportunity to get exposure to this asset” — even if it’s a private company — due to the disruptive nature of AI, he added.
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On Monday, the Bank of Lithuania, which is Robinhood’s lead authority in the European Union, told CNBC it was “awaiting clarifications” regarding the structure of the company’s stock tokens following OpenAI’s statement last week.
“Only after receiving and evaluating this information will we be able to assess the legality and compliance of these specific instruments,” Bank of Lithuania spokesman Giedrius Šniukas told CNBC. “The information for investors must be provided in clear, fair, and non-misleading language.”
Tenev said in response to the Lithuanian regulator’s comments that Robinhood is “happy to continue to answer questions from our regulators.”
“Since this is a new thing, regulators are going to want to look at it, and we’ve built this program in a way that we believe will withstand scrutiny — and we expect to be scrutinized as a large, innovative player in this space,” he told CNBC. More
The world’s trading system is now a reality-TV show. “We invite you to participate in the extraordinary Economy of the United States, the Number One Market in the World,” President Donald Trump proclaimed in letters dispatched to many of America’s partners on July 7th. Then he threatened them with tariffs set to take effect on August 1st: 25% for Japan and South Korea, 32% for Indonesia and 36% Thailand. More
BlackRock’s new acquisition pushes the asset manager one step deeper into private markets. The news The asset management giant on Monday announced an agreement to buy ElmTree Funds, a real estate investment firm that manages roughly $7.3 billion in assets. ElmTree, which leases commercial properties to single-tenant renters, will be integrated into BlackRock’s new group called Private Financing Solutions. The PFS unit is home to private credit manager HPS Investment Partners, which officially became part of BlackRock last week following the closure of the $12 billion acquisition . “Our specialized bricks-and-mortar expertise will be augmented by HPS’s ability to provide financing and other solutions that fuel the corporations and developers driving the economy forward,” ElmTree founder and CEO James Koman said in a statement. HPS CEO Scott Kapnick added that, “Structural shifts in the real estate sector are creating new opportunities for private capital.” The acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter of 2025 and is subject to regulatory approval. BlackRock shares rose modestly Monday, hitting an intraday record high of almost $1,087 apiece, following the news. The stock was bucking the broader market, which dropped Monday after finishing last week at a record. Big picture This is BlackRock’s latest attempt to broaden its portfolio of private assets, one of the hottest areas of finance. For years, BlackRock has been known for its popular index business, which manages trillions of dollars and makes up a significant portion of its revenues. The firm has profited immensely as an industry leader for ETFs through its iShares family of funds, but management has been trying to reinvent BlackRock and diversify its revenues into other areas. Deals have been a big part of that. The company has spent over $28 billion on private-markets acquisitions since the start of 2024. In addition to HPS, BlackRock also bought alternatives data provider Preqin and infrastructure investment firm Global Infrastructure Partners . With HPS now finalized, all three firms are now part of BlackRock. During BlackRock’s investor day, President Rob Kapito described 2024 as one of the most “transformative” periods in the firm’s history. He also struck an optimistic tone about its future growth drivers such as private markets. “The best of BlackRock is still ahead of us,” Kapito told investors in June. By 2030, BlackRock aims for its private markets and technology businesses to account for at least 30% of its revenue, up from less than a fifth at the end of last year. BLK YTD mountain BlackRock (BLK) year-to-date performance Bottom line Acquiring ElmTree Funds isn’t a needle-moving deal for BlackRock’s bottom line yet — but we like what it says about the firm’s strategic focus. Consider: BlackRock manages over $11.5 trillion in assets, compared to ElmTree’s $7.3 billion in assets. (On the flip side, that means we’re not worried about any dilution from the all-stock deal either, given the size of the transaction.) Nevertheless, the venture underscores management’s push into the fast-growing world of private markets and, in particular, targets commercial real estate. We like the private market expansion because it diversifies BlackRock’s revenue streams further. It will be nice to see when BlackRock’s not quite as reliant on its ETF business, which is heavily influenced by stock market’s volatility. There are already signs that its other acquisitions are starting to pay off. Preqin, for example, added around $20 million to revenue in the first quarter of 2025 — in less than a month of ownership — and contributed to BlackRock’s 30% year-over-year increase in annual contract values. Investors will get an updated look at Preqin’s performance and BlackRock as a whole on July 15, when the asset manager reports second-quarter earnings before the opening bell. (Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust is long BLK. See here for a full list of the stocks.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED. More
The Bank of Lithuania, Robinhood’s lead EU regulator, said it is “awaiting clarifications” regarding the structure of the company’s OpenAI and SpaceX stock tokens.
Robinhood says its stock tokens give users the ability to invest in shares in the form of blockchain-based tokens.
However, following the product’s launch last week, OpenAI warned users that “these ‘OpenAI tokens’ are not OpenAI equity.”
Avishek Das | SOPA Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images
Lithuania’s central bank on Monday said it has contacted Robinhood seeking clarifications over its tokenized equities after OpenAI raised concerns over the product last week.
“We have contacted Robinhood and are awaiting clarifications regarding the structure of OpenAI and SpaceX stock tokens as well as the related consumer communication,” Bank of Lithuania spokesman Giedrius Šniukas told CNBC via email.
“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 Bank of Lithuania is Robinhood’s lead regulator in the European Union after the company received a brokerage license and crypto asset service provider license from the central bank. Robinhood was not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNBC.
It comes shortly after OpenAI distanced itself from Robinhood’s “Stock Tokens” product. Launched on June 30, the product gives users in the EU the ability to invest in shares in the form of blockchain-based tokens, according to Robinhood — even for privately held firms like OpenAI and SpaceX.
Following Robinhood’s announcement of the new token offering, OpenAI took to social media platform X to warn users that “these ‘OpenAI tokens’ are not OpenAI equity.”
“We did not partner with Robinhood, were not involved in this, and do not endorse it,” the company said at the time, adding “any transfer of OpenAI equity requires our approval — we did not approve any transfer” and urging users to approach the product with caution.
In response to OpenAI’s warning last week, Robinhood had said 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.” More
Suzhou is one of China’s most important electronics manufacturing centres. But who cares about that? On June 29th nothing was more important to the city than its team beating nearby Yangzhou in a football match. The fierce rivalry stretches back more than 1,000 years to when the cities competed for pre-eminence along the Grand Canal. For centuries they also sought to outdo each other’s sublime gardens. Suzhou, the larger and richer of the two, was victorious during the Song dynasty. It continued its winning streak in 2025, comfortably beating Yangzhou 3-0. More
