AMC CEO Demands End to Robinhood Stock Token Trading
AMC Entertainment CEO Adam Aron has escalated his fight against Robinhood over its tokenized stocks, calling on the brokerage to stop trading tokens linked to AMC shares and threatening legal action. Aron's comments came in response to Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev's question about what the concern was.
Aron argued that the tokens could undermine AMC's ability to raise capital, deny investors shareholder rights, and create a parallel market using the company's name without its consent. He questioned Robinhood's use of an offshore structure and whether the products comply with U.S. securities laws.
Not all stock tokens are created equal, with some providers creating synthetic wrappers that track the price of a stock without making the token itself a registered share of the company. Others tokenize shares held with a regulated custodian, while issuer-sponsored approaches put actual company shares onchain with shareholder rights attached.
Aron's criticism found support from some crypto executives who otherwise favor bringing stocks onchain. Armani Ferrante, co-founder and CEO of crypto exchange Backpack, said Aron's concern about capital formation had 'real substance'.