Foreign media: Robinhood rejected AMC's request to halt trading of its stock token and countered by offering to have lawyers speak directly. The dispute centers on whether these products mislead buyers, infringe on trademarks, and how they should be legally classified.
Robinhood Responds to AMC
Robinhood’s Chief Legal, Compliance, and Corporate Affairs Officer, Dan Gallagher, responded on X to AMC CEO Adam Aron, saying AMC could “send over its lawyers.” He also stated that the company is familiar with U.S. securities laws and does not accept the claim that it should “cease and desist” trading.
Aron accused Robinhood of marketing a security that resembles AMC stock without complying with U.S. securities laws. He also questioned the use of a Jersey-based issuing entity for the related token and argued that such products undermine shareholder rights and corporate control over financing.
The lawyers' dispute centers on trademark and misleading practices.
The interviewed attorney, Ashley Ebersole, believes that such products may not clearly violate U.S. securities laws, as they are primarily targeted at overseas markets and are not available on Robinhood’s U.S. app. He noted that if AMC were to pursue litigation, it would be more likely to focus on trademark misuse or "misleading association."
Ebersole said the key issue is whether the platform is packaging the tokens as shares themselves or implying that they confer shareholder rights. He also noted that Robinhood could still mount a defense if the product is clearly labeled as a tracking token and the use of the AMC brand is restricted.
The tokenized stocks business continues to expand.
Arcus's Chief Legal Officer, Daniel Lasko, also noted that publicly traded companies typically have little control over how third parties package their shares as financial products. He compared such arrangements to ETFs holding individual stocks, suggesting that public understanding of tokenized stocks remains inadequate.
Lasko also countered AMC’s claim of “harming U.S. capital markets,” arguing that such products could instead attract international investors who previously had no access to U.S. markets. Robinhood launched tokenized stock trading for European customers last summer, and OpenAI had previously raised objections to tokens using its name.