AMC Entertainment CEO Adam Aron has publicly attacked Robinhood over its tokenized version of AMC stock, questioning how the offering could be legal and ordering a review by outside securities counsel. The clash echoes a similar dispute Robinhood had with OpenAI last year, as AMC shares jumped overnight following Aron's post.
AMC Entertainment Holdings CEO and Chairman Adam Aron sharply criticized Robinhood on Thursday for tokenizing U.S. stocks, including AMC's own shares. In a social media post, Aron said the tokenized versions of U.S. stocks are not registered under federal securities laws and questioned how the offering could be legal.
Aron calls the offering "outrageous"
According to The Block: Aron wrote that he finds the practice contemptible and outrageous, calling it "contemptible, outrageous, disgusting, detestable, inexcusable, vile", and added that AMC has no connection to the tokens and does not condone them. He said the company will have its outside securities counsel review the matter immediately.
Robinhood CEO and Chairman Vlad Tenev replied to Aron's post by asking what the concern was. Robinhood's own documentation describes the stock tokens as tokenized debt securities issued by an offshore affiliate, Robinhood Assets, giving holders exposure to the underlying securities without legal ownership or shareholder rights. The company states the tokens have not been registered as securities in the United States and may not be offered there.
Not the first clash over tokenized shares
Aron's complaint follows a similar dispute from last year, when OpenAI publicly rejected Robinhood's token offerings tied to the AI company, saying the tokens were not OpenAI equity and that it had not partnered with or endorsed the product. Tenev said at the time the tokens were not technically equity but derivatives giving retail investors exposure to the private company, and argued tokenization should not require an opt-in from the firms involved.
AMC shares jump overnight
AMC stock is up nearly 21% in overnight trading at $3.07, according to TradingView. Tokenized stocks have gained traction for enabling round-the-clock trading and faster settlement, and the segment's total market cap reached $13.4 billion as of Sept. 1, up from $2.5 billion at the start of the year, per The Block's data dashboard.
Source: The Block
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