MNX exchange launches AI stock futures to challenge OKX and Bitget

The New Player on the Block

If you have been feeling the FOMO watching private AI giants like OpenAI and Anthropic grow, a new crypto exchange called MNX is trying to bring that action on-chain. Launched this Tuesday by former Manifold executives, the platform is built on the MegaETH blockchain and is looking to take a bite out of the market share currently held by bigger names like OKX and Bitget.

MNX allows users to trade futures contracts tied to the valuations of major AI players like Anthropic, DeepSeek, Moonshot, and OpenAI. The platform secured $6.4 million in funding back in June, with Village Global leading the round.

Not Your Average Perp

Real talk: this space is getting crowded. OKX and Bitget already let you bet on AI company valuations, but MNX is trying to do things a bit differently. While its competitors often rely on perpetual futures that never expire, MNX is rolling out contracts with specific expiration dates set for the end of 2027. They are also ditching recurring funding fees.

Stephen Gruggett, co-founder of Manifold Markets, claims this model is better for private firms where secondary market shares are super illiquid and hard to price. He noted that perps based on stale prices are easy to manipulate and high-key confusing for traders.

The Risks of Going Degen

Before you go all-in on your bags, there are some major caveats. You can leverage your funds up to 3x, which means you could lose your stack just as fast as you make it. Plus, the price discovery here is based on trading activity on MNX, not an external market feed. If a contract expires while the company is still private, the exchange uses a mix of public funding data or, in a worst-case scenario, their own internal price determination.

That means the "value" you see on the screen might not reflect what you would pay for actual equity in a real-world deal. Also, MNX currently isn't available for U.S. customers, though they say they are working on getting the right licenses.

Why it matters

AI is currently the biggest vibe in the investment world, with major tech firms expected to dump over $1 trillion into the sector by next year. MNX is betting that existing financial infrastructure is too slow to keep up with the pace of AI growth. Just remember: this is strictly financial speculation and definitely not financial advice. Always do your own research before jumping into these markets.