Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev defended his company's tokenized stock products on CNBC, offering his first televised comments since AMC Entertainment chief Adam Aron went public with his objections to the offerings.
Aron has accused Robinhood of issuing unregistered tokens tied to AMC stock in violation of U.S. securities law and threatened to bring in outside counsel and escalate the matter to the SEC.
The Dispute Over Stock Tokens
The conflict began after Robinhood extended its tokenized stock offering to cover AMC and more than 190 other companies through Robinhood Assets Limited, without those firms directly signing on. Aron reacted publicly on social media, arguing the products let Robinhood create exposure to AMC stock without the company's involvement, undermining the traditional relationship between a company and its shareholders.
AMC's stock jumped as much as 15% in premarket trading when the public dispute first surfaced, with traders engaging in both the shares and related tokens.
Robinhood's Defense
On Wednesday, Tenev told CNBC that a public company cannot dictate every financial product built once its shares start trading. He described Robinhood's tokens as debt securities backed one to one by the underlying shares held as collateral. Token holders receive economic exposure to the stock but no voting rights in the company itself.
Robinhood's chief legal officer, former SEC commissioner Dan Gallagher, also pushed back publicly, defending the company's reading of U.S. securities law.
Regulatory Questions Ahead
The clash raises an open question for regulators regarding whether a brokerage can wrap any public company's stock into a tradable token without that company's consent. AMC's threatened SEC complaint could provide the first real test of where regulatory boundaries sit.
