TLDR
- AMC CEO Adam Aron publicly criticized Robinhood for creating tokenized AMC shares without the company’s knowledge or consent
- Aron called the practice “contemptible” and “outrageous” and plans to involve outside securities counsel
- Robinhood’s stock tokens are derivatives providing economic exposure only, not actual share ownership
- OpenAI previously rejected similar Robinhood tokens linked to the private AI company
- The tokens are not registered under US securities laws and face restrictions in Canada, Switzerland, and the UK
AMC Entertainment CEO Adam Aron went public Thursday with sharp criticism of Robinhood’s tokenized stock offering tied to AMC shares, saying the company had no involvement and did not approve the product.
“We have no connection to this at all, and do not condone it in any way,” Aron wrote on X.
He described the practice as “contemptible” and “outrageous,” and said AMC would ask outside securities counsel to look into the matter.
Seriously? What’s the concern you ask, @vladtenev? The list of concerns is almost existential.
U.S. securities laws are in place to protect investors. For good reason, we spend millions and millions of dollars every year to comply with U.S. securities laws. In good. conscience,… https://t.co/cfiu2c7Tvn
— Adam Aron (@CEOAdam) September 4, 2026
What Are Robinhood’s Stock Tokens?
Robinhood’s stock tokens are derivatives. They give holders economic exposure to US stocks but do not provide actual ownership of the underlying shares.
The tokens are not registered under US securities laws. They also face restrictions in several countries, including Canada, Switzerland, and the UK.
The first generation of these tokens launched in July 2026. They are issued by Jersey-based Robinhood Assets as ERC-20 tokens on the blockchain.
Robinhood has been building out its tokenization business for some time. In October 2025, the company shared plans to tokenize nearly 500 US stocks and ETFs on Arbitrum. In February 2026, it launched a public testnet for Robinhood Chain, its own Ethereum layer-2 network built on Arbitrum technology.
Not the First Pushback
AMC is not the first company to object. OpenAI publicly rejected Robinhood tokens linked to the private AI company last year, saying the tokens were not OpenAI equity and that it had not partnered with or endorsed the offering.
Robinhood said those tokens gave indirect exposure through a special-purpose vehicle.
Tokenized stocks have faced other problems too. Earlier in June, crypto exchanges including Bybit, Binance, Bitget Wallet, and MEXC canceled their tokenized SpaceX IPO campaigns after Kraken-owned xStocks reportedly could not deliver the underlying assets.
Robinhood co-founder and CEO Vlad Tenev responded to Aron on X, asking him to share his specific concerns. The company did not issue a formal statement.
Cointelegraph has contacted Robinhood for comment on the regulatory status of its tokenized stock offerings.
In July 2026, analysts at Bernstein raised their price target on Robinhood Markets, saying the platform’s next growth phase would be driven by tokenized equities and prediction markets rather than traditional crypto trading.
The clash between AMC and Robinhood puts a spotlight on what happens when companies find synthetic versions of their shares trading on blockchains without their consent.
There are different models in the tokenized stock space. Some platforms hold conventional shares with a custodian and issue tokens backed by them. Others, like Robinhood, use derivatives. A third model involves companies putting their own registered shares directly onchain.
The AMC situation shows that publicly traded companies may push back as synthetic stock tokens grow in number.
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