AMC CEO Slams Robinhood's Tokenized Stock Tokens as 'Outrageous'
AMC Entertainment CEO Adam Aron publicly criticized Robinhood's tokenized stock tokens, calling them 'contemptible, outrageous, disgusting, detestable, inexcusable, vile.' He questioned the legal basis for offering these tokens to users and expressed concerns that Robinhood did not register its offering under U.S. securities law.
Aron stated that AMC would invoke outside securities counsel to review the matter and added that his company does not endorse or is connected to the tokenized AMC stock. He emphasized that the absence of investor-protection rules costs AMC millions of dollars every year.
Robinhood's own disclosures explain that the blockchain tokens are tokenized debt securities issued by an offshore affiliate, Robinhood Assets. Holders get price exposure to a stock but do not have legal ownership or voting rights.
The market for tokenized stocks has grown significantly this year, reaching a combined market value of $13.4 billion as of September 1, up from $2.5 billion at the start of the year.