Anthropic vs OpenAI: Which is the Better Pre-IPO Stock to Buy as Perpetual Volumes Surge 6000x?

The Anthropic and OpenAI pre-IPO stocks are drawing buy-side pressure following the SpaceX IPO mania that saw $3.2 billion in perpetual futures volumes and $390 million in open interest between May 17 and June 11.

The total volumes of pre-IPO futures have reached $12 billion in June 2026, a 6,000 times increase from the $2 million seen in March per CryptoQuant data.

The Binance exchange, which offers both the Anthropic and OpenAI pre-IPO equities, accounts for 83% of the $12 billion volumes seen so far in June.

The two AI companies could be behind these rising volumes, but Anthropic is standing out as the best pre-IPO stock to buy.

Demand for Pre-IPO Stocks Rises to Record Highs

Pre-IPOs have become the latest attraction among crypto traders after exchange giants Coinbase and Binance expanded into the pre-IPO markets in May.

Binance accounts for $10.3 billion of the $12 billion in pre-IPO perpetual volumes recorded in June, with Bitget following at a far second with $1.3 billion in volumes.

The demand for the two pre-IPO stocks will likely continue in the months leading up to when the companies will go public, as retail traders chase the hype around AI.

A report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development notes that AI accounts for a 61% share of all VC investments globally, and retail now has a chance to position itself in this industry through pre-IPOs, hence the question: Which is the better Pre-IPO stock to buy?

Anthropic: The Bull Case vs Bear Case

Anthropic submitted a confidential filing with the SEC on June 1 for an IPO that is expected to happen between October and December 2026, depending on the speed with which the SEC reviews the application.

The filing neither revealed the number of shares that will be issued nor did it mention the price at which the stock will trade. But three days before the filing, Anthropic raised $65 billion and revealed it has a valuation of $952 billion.

A report by the Wall Street Journal in May also revealed that Anthropic could generate a revenue of $10.9 billion between April and June 2026. The operating profit could reach $559 million, marking the most profitable quarter for the company, and could be why the pre-IPO stock is attracting interest.

The bullish revenue projections come as the US government extends its partnership after the White House said it will be working with Anthropic to review the security flaws of other AI models.

On June 19, President Donald Trump also said that Anthropic was no longer a threat to national security, marking a complete turnaround from his February 27 statement, where he ordered all government institutions to stop using Claude because it posed a risk to the supply chain.

Still, the political entanglement between Anthropic and the US government creates a bear case for the pre-IPO stock after the government ordered the company to roll back the launch of Fable 5 and Mythos 5.

Anthropic’s move to recall Fable 5 sets a precedent where the government will influence Anthropic’s activities in the future.

Technical Outlook

The ANTHROPIC/USDT perpetual contract on Binance has already seen $141 million in trading volumes since it started trading on the exchange on June 1.

The pre-IPO stock is trading at $1,720 at press time, having opened trading on June 2 at $1,780.

Still, ANTHROPIC/USDT is up by 5.5% from the low of $1,626 recorded on the day of launch.

The RSI reading of 53 shows that the momentum is currently neutral, and more buy-side pressure is needed to push the price higher.

ANTHROPIC/USDT could breach the psychological support level of $1,700 if buy-side pressure weakens as the hype around pre-IPO stocks fades after SpaceX went live.

OpenAI: The Bull Case vs Bear Case

On June 8, OpenAI admitted that it had made a confidential filing with the SEC for an IPO, but stressed on the fact that there was no set timing for when the company would go public.

“It may be a while because there are things we want to do that are likely easier as a private company,” the filing said.

The filing did not disclose OpenAI’s valuation, but in March, the ChatGPT maker had disclosed a valuation of $852 billion when it raised $122 million in a funding round.

During this raise, OpenAI also revealed its revenue figures, saying that it is currently generating $2 billion in revenue every month. The company said that its revenue growth was four times faster than that of Alphabet or Meta.

A report by Axios also forecast that OpenAI will generate $2.5 billion in advertising revenue in 2026 alone when it rolls out on ChatGPT. IOt expects that this ad revenue will grow to $11 billion in 2027.

While the numbers are strong and could explain why it is one of the most popular pre-IPO stocks in the market, OpenAI faces a wave of lawsuits that could affect how it performs if the shares eventually go public.

The state of Florida has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, saying that its ChatGPT tool is dangerous to children, it is enabling suicide, and is being used by mass shooters.

The recent lawsuit comes barely two weeks before SpaceX CEO Elon Musk lost a lawsuit against OpenAI, where he was accusing OpenAI of receiving confidential information about xAI from a former employee.

Still, the lawsuit has not deterred investment after CNBC disclosed that the White House is considering investing in OpenAI.

Technical Outlook

The OPENAI/USDT perpetual contract that trades on Binance has recorded $197 million in volumes, which is $56 million higher than Anthropic.

The perpetual contract opened trading on May 26 at $1,580, and it has since dropped to trade at $1,384 at press time.

The pre-IPO stock touched an all-time low of $1,171 on June 10 as investors shifted interest to the SpaceX IPO, but it has since surged by 15%, suggesting buying pressure has resumed.

The RSI reading of 58 suggests that the momentum is favoring bulls, while the AO bars that are red and shrinking in length suggest that bears are losing strength.

The OpenAI perpetual contract has established a support level of $1,340, with a move below it set to trigger a strong downtrend, while resistance lies at $1,512.

Which is the Best Pre-IPO Stock to Buy?

Anthropic and OpenAI are dominant players in the fast-growing AI space, but Anthropic stands out as the best pre-IPO stock.

Firstly, OpenAI explicitly said in its IPO filing that it prefers remaining a private company, suggesting it is not in a rush to have the IPO, while Anthropic said the timing depends on the speed with which the SEC reviews its application.

This difference in wording suggests Anthropic will likely go public before OpenAI, giving it a first-mover advantage.

Secondly, the US government is already using Anthropic more than OpenAI, and this usage could increase Anthropic’s revenues in the future.