A trader holds $1.5 million in unrealized gains from tokens representing shares in AI firm Anthropic, but faces extreme difficulty liquidating the position due to insufficient market liquidity. The situation exposes the practical challenges of investing in tokenized pre-IPO assets, where paper profits may not be convertible to cash.
A trader who invested in Solana-based tokens offering exposure to artificial intelligence developer Anthropic has accrued nearly $1.5 million in paper profits. The tokens were issued by platform PreStocks, which creates Special Purpose Vehicles to acquire shares of private companies and then issues corresponding tradable tokens on the blockchain.
The investor owns 31% of all 8,227 Anthropic tokens issued by PreStocks, amounting to 2,593 tokens. However, liquidity simulations on Solana exchange aggregators showed the entire holding could not be sold; the best possible outcome was selling approximately 950 tokens at a 34% discount, yielding around $572,000. This amount roughly equates to the trader’s initial investment, leaving the substantial gains inaccessible.
“In short, while the trader may have made $1.5 million on paper, they currently have no easy way to cash out for anywhere close to that amount unless more buyers step in,” the analysis concluded. PreStocks offers a direct redemption process, but it involves fees, know-your-customer checks, and depends on the platform’s ability to liquidate its underlying positions.
The platform’s model has been criticised within the crypto industry for transparency concerns regarding its SPVs. Reports indicate PreStocks promised external audits and individual verifications, but these have not yet been provided.
Furthermore, the valuation of the PreStocks Anthropic token, at approximately $911, significantly exceeds the implied share value derived from Anthropic’s recent Series G funding round, which valued the company at $380 billion and placed individual shares between $259 and $346. This valuation mismatch is not unique to PreStocks, as similar traditional platforms also list shares at premiums.
