AMC CEO Rips into Robinhood Over Tokenization of Stock Without Permission

Robinhood's tokenization of publicly-traded companies' stocks without their approval has AMC CEO Adam Aron up in arms. In a recent X post, Aron called Robinhood's practice 'contemptible, outrageous, disgusting, detestable, inexcusable, vile,' saying it may violate U.S. securities laws and hurt AMC's ability to raise capital.

Robinhood has been pushing deeper into tokenization over the past year, launching its Stock Tokens for eligible European customers in 2025 and its Robinhood Chain in July of this year. The tokens can trade 24/7 and be used in decentralized finance (DeFi) applications.

Aron questioned how a U.S. company could establish an operation in Jersey, roughly 3,000 miles away, and market a security that appears to represent AMC without complying with U.S. securities laws.

SEC staff recognized in January that securities can be tokenized by third parties unaffiliated with the companies that issued the underlying securities, but Aron has a legitimate point about what investors actually own and what happens when a product with the ticker 'AMC' trades like AMC without conveying ownership of AMC.