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PreStocks, formerly known as prePO, operates a decentralized trading platform offering tokenized exposure to pre-IPO companies and pre-token projects. The platform enables speculation on the value of private assets prior to their public market debut. Leveraging blockchain technology, it facilitates instant trading without minimum investment thresholds, democratizing access to historically exclusive investment opportunities.
Founded in 2021 by Xavier Ekkel in Australia, PreStocks emerged from the insight that private market access was largely restricted to institutional investors. Ekkel envisioned a system to broaden participation in early-stage asset speculation, aiming to create a transparent and equitable mechanism for individuals to engage with private market assets previously out of reach.
The platform primarily serves individuals seeking exposure to leading private companies, allowing them to trade synthetic assets like tokenized shares of firms such as Anthropic. PreStocks’ long-term vision centers on bringing private markets to a global audience, fostering a more inclusive financial ecosystem for diverse investors by removing traditional barriers.
prePO has raised $3.0M across 2 funding rounds.
prePO has raised $3.0M in total across 2 funding rounds.
prePO has raised $3.0M in total across 2 funding rounds.
prePO's investors include Animoca Brands, Bankless Ventures, Gumi Cryptos Capital, Infinity Ventures Crypto, Jlabs, Jude Gomila Rolling Fund, Mechanism Capital, ParaFi Capital, Polychain Capital, Polygon, Scalar Capital, Balaji Srinivasan.
# High-Level Overview
PrePO is a decentralized trading platform that democratizes access to pre-public assets by allowing anyone, anywhere to speculate on the valuation of pre-IPO companies and pre-token projects.[1][2] Rather than building traditional financial infrastructure, PrePO solves a fundamental problem of financial exclusion: retail investors have historically been locked out of early-stage investment opportunities reserved for institutional investors and accredited individuals.
The platform enables traders to take long or short positions on pre-public assets with competitive yields for both traders and liquidity providers.[4] PrePO operates as a fully remote, globally distributed team backed by world-class investors, with headquarters in New York City and fewer than 25 employees.[2][6] The platform is powered by PPO, its governance and utility token, and currently operates on Arbitrum with additional markets on zkSync.[4]
# Origin Story
PrePO was founded in 2021 by Xavier Ekkel, a software engineer who previously worked at the unicorn startup Canva.[4] Ekkel's background as both a software engineer and active retail investor in crypto and traditional markets shaped the company's vision. Having experienced firsthand the barriers to accessing early-stage investment opportunities—particularly his inability to gain exposure to Canva's pre-IPO success—Ekkel conceived the idea of building a decentralized platform to bypass these traditional gatekeepers.[4]
The company announced its PPO Token presale on Arbitrum in September 2022, marking a significant milestone in bringing the platform to market.[2] This launch represented the materialization of Ekkel's vision to transform "a world of financial exclusion into a world of permissionless access."[2]
# Core Differentiators
# Role in the Broader Tech Landscape
PrePO operates at the intersection of two major trends: the maturation of decentralized finance (DeFi) and growing demand for alternative investment access. The synthetic assets sector within DeFi remains in early stages, and PrePO's approach demonstrates how crypto protocols can empower retail investors by granting access to assets traditionally out of reach due to regulatory and geographical barriers.[4]
The timing is significant: as venture capital markets have become increasingly concentrated among institutional players, retail demand for pre-public exposure has grown. PrePO's permissionless model challenges the traditional gatekeeping of pre-IPO markets, potentially influencing how financial markets evolve toward greater democratization. The platform's live, 24/7 market also provides unprecedented real-time insights into pre-public company valuations—data previously available only to institutional investors.[4]
# Quick Take & Future Outlook
PrePO is positioned at the frontier of financial democratization, leveraging blockchain infrastructure to solve a decades-old problem of investment access inequality. The company's success depends on regulatory clarity around synthetic assets and pre-public trading, as well as sustained demand from retail investors seeking alternative exposure.
Looking ahead, PrePO's influence will likely grow as DeFi matures and institutional adoption of blockchain-based trading increases. The platform's ability to attract liquidity providers and maintain competitive yields will be critical to its trajectory. If successful, PrePO could establish a new paradigm for how pre-public markets function—one where information asymmetry decreases and participation becomes truly permissionless, fundamentally reshaping who gets to participate in early-stage wealth creation.
prePO has raised $3.0M across 2 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $2.0M Seed in March 2022.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 1, 2022 | $2M Seed | — | Animoca Brands, Bankless Ventures, Gumi Cryptos Capital, Infinity Ventures Crypto, Jlabs, Jude Gomila Rolling Fund, Mechanism Capital, ParaFi Capital, Polychain Capital, Polygon Labs, Scalar Capital, Balaji Srinivasan, Charlie Cheever, Furqan Rydhan, Sebastien Borget, Stani Kulechov | Announced |
| Jun 1, 2021 | $1M Seed | — | Audrey Capital, BITKRAFT Ventures, Grit Capital Partners, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Mayfield, PsyMed Ventures, Vine Ventures (vine.vc), VSC Ventures, Robert Goldberg, Sahin Boydas, TED Moskovitz | Announced |
