AMC CEO Adam Aron publicly opposed Robinhood’s stock token product, stating that AMC has no association with the related tokens and has not authorized them. The controversy centers on the fact that such products do not represent actual ownership of shares, but rather provide economic exposure to the stock’s price performance.
AMC requires legal counsel to be involved.
Aron described such practices as "disgraceful" and questioned their legality. He stated that the relevant tokens have not been registered under U.S. securities laws, and AMC has requested external securities counsel to conduct an immediate review. According to him, Robinhood’s program covers more than 190 companies.
Robinhood's product documentation states that the so-called "stock tokens" do not represent actual shares of the underlying company, but rather tokenized debt securities issued by Robinhood Assets (Jersey) Limited. Holders are only entitled to economic exposure to the stock's price movements and do not hold any legal or beneficial rights to the underlying shares.
Holders do not have shareholder rights.
This means that users holding tokens related to AMC cannot claim to own AMC stock or assert any shareholder rights against AMC. Robinhood’s clarification also states that holders have no direct claims against the company that issued the stock.
- The issuer is the Robinhood Jersey entity.
- The product is a tokenized debt security.
- Returns are pegged to the stock price but do not correspond to actual equity.
Robinhood also disclosed that these tokens are not registered in the United States and cannot be offered or delivered to U.S. persons. Additional restrictions apply in Canada, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland outside the U.S. The base prospectus has been approved by the Financial Market Authority of Liechtenstein under EU regulations.
OpenAI previously publicly severed ties.
This is not the first time Robinhood has sparked controversy over its tokenized stock products. Last year, the company airdropped tokens tracking OpenAI and SpaceX to European users. Subsequently, OpenAI stated that it had not partnered with Robinhood and had not participated in or endorsed the product.
At the time, OpenAI emphasized that any transfer of OpenAI equity required the company’s approval, which was not granted. Robinhood’s CEO, Vlad Tenev, called the product launch a milestone and said that thousands of private companies may adopt a similar model in the future.
SEC commissioners have issued a warning.
A few days after the launch of the above product, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce stated that blockchain does not "magically change" the nature of the underlying assets. This remark was interpreted by the market as a direct reminder regarding the structure of tokenized stocks.