Pre-IPO Perpetual Exposure through Ventuals Protocol: A novel approach to investment
Ventuals, a decentralised finance (DeFi) platform, has launched its testnet, providing users with the opportunity to explore the platform without risking real capital. The platform allows trading of perpetual futures contracts based on the valuation of private, pre-Initial Public Offering (IPO) companies, such as OpenAI, SpaceX, or Anthropic.
Users can set up their wallets and connect to the Ventuals testnet using Web3 wallets like Metamask, Rabby, or any EVM-compatible wallet. To trade on the testnet, users can open the Trade tab, pick a company, enter the amount of USDC (testnet) they want to use, select Long (Buy) or Short (Sell), choose leverage (up to 10x), and confirm the transaction in their wallet.
Ventuals also introduces the VLP (Ventuals Liquidity Provider) Vault, which allows users to provide liquidity under the HIP-3 standard on HyperBeat. Users can also provide liquidity and earn passive yield on the VLP Vault in the Ventuals testnet.
The platform's popularity is growing, with Ventuals being the project that gained the most new followers from top influencers in the crypto space in the past week. Notable figures such as Gmoney, WSBMod, and Mr. Block have followed and mentioned the project.
However, Ventuals faces significant regulatory challenges across jurisdictions due to its futures trading based on pre-IPO assets. Pre-IPO assets and futures trading lie in a complex legal gray area, involving securities regulations that differ widely by country. These assets are typically considered private equity or securities, which are highly regulated in many jurisdictions.
Futures trading on such assets likely qualifies as derivatives trading, subject to strict oversight by financial regulators. The lack of clear regulatory frameworks for DeFi and tokenized private equity products compounds the complexity. Cross-border operations entail compliance with diverse rules on securities offering, derivatives trading, and investor protection, which can lead to jurisdictional conflicts, mandatory financial disclosures, and liability challenges.
Regulatory authorities have cracked down on crypto derivatives platforms operating without proper Know Your Customer (KYC)/Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and licenses. Ventuals must therefore implement robust compliance measures to avoid such penalties. Trading pre-IPO-related futures tokens risks being seen as offering unregistered securities or illegal derivatives contracts, triggering enforcement actions, fines, or trading bans.
The fragmentation of custody and asset standards in crypto markets further challenges secure, compliant custody arrangements for tokenized pre-IPO assets. As the regulatory landscape for DeFi and real-world asset derivatives evolves, proactive engagement with regulators and clear compliance frameworks are essential for Ventuals to operate legally and sustainably across jurisdictions.
Ventuals is built on Hyperliquid, a decentralised trading infrastructure known for its fast execution and low latency, capable of processing up to 100,000 orders per second. The platform uses an optimistic oracle to bring off-chain data onto the blockchain transparently.
The Ventuals Startup Dashboard is another notable feature of the platform. It provides structured data about private AI companies before they IPO, including last round valuations, total capital raised for projects, monthly active users, reported annualized revenue, interest over time, usage market share, and the fundraising round breakdown. All the information comes with links to sources.
Ventuals' goal is to make private capital markets accessible to a global audience, and the platform's current live status on testnet is a significant step towards achieving this goal. As the platform continues to evolve and navigate regulatory challenges, it promises to bring innovative solutions to the DeFi space.
Read also:
- Comcast Introduces Sports-Oriented Video Bundle in Preparation for the World Cup Tournament
- Is Maruti's reign over the SUV market being challenged by Mahindra's aggressive move to snatch the top spot?
- Social Security Administration Abandons Plan for Electronic Payments: Important Information for Recipients of Benefits
- Increased energy demand counters Trump's pro-fossil fuel strategies, according to APG's infrastructure team.
