AMC CEO threatens legal action against Robinhood over stock tokens
AMC boss demands trading halt for stock tokens
AMC Entertainment CEO Adam Aron escalated a public dispute with Robinhood on Friday, calling for an immediate stop to the trading of tokens linked to AMC shares. Aron threatened legal action and said he plans to raise the issue with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The conflict began after Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev posted a question about Aron’s concerns on X. Aron responded by calling the tokens "synthetic equity" that operate on an offshore structure in Jersey. He argued the products create a "fictitious" market that could undermine AMC’s ability to raise capital and deny investors their rights as shareholders.
Robinhood legal chief pushes back
Robinhood Chief Legal Officer Dan Gallagher, a former SEC commissioner, rejected Aron’s demands. Gallagher wrote that the brokerage has no plans to stop offering the products. He took aim at Aron’s misspelling of the word "desist" and told the AMC CEO to send his lawyers so the brokerage could "educate them." Tenev shared the response, stating, "We stand behind Stock Tokens." Aron later clarified that the misspelling was intentional humor.
Industry voices on token structures
The spat has drawn attention to the differences between how tokenized stocks are built. Some platforms use synthetic wrappers that track a stock's price without being registered shares. Others hold actual company shares with regulated custodians or attach shareholder rights directly to the token.
Several crypto executives weighed in on the distinction. Armani Ferrante, CEO of Backpack, said Aron’s concerns about capital formation had "real substance." He noted that buying Robinhood tokens does not necessarily create buy pressure for the underlying stock because retail investors cannot redeem tokens directly for shares.
Graham Rodford, CEO of Archax, argued that tokenized stocks should mean actual tokens of the stock, not debt instruments issued by separate vehicles. Joris Delanoue, CEO of Fairmint, drew a similar line, stating that if a holder is not on the company’s official ownership record, the token is not a share. Carlos Domingo, CEO of Securitize, pointed out that thin liquidity can cause tokens to diverge wildly from stock prices, citing one AMC token trading at 60 times the reference price.
Market growth and stakes
The tokenized stock market has grown to $3.6 billion. A Citi report projects the sector could reach $5.5 trillion by 2030, with $2.7 trillion in equities. The debate highlights the growing friction as traditional companies and crypto firms race to bring equities onto blockchains.
Key numbers
- $3.6 billion: Current size of the tokenized stock market.
- $5.5 trillion: Citi's projected total asset tokenization by 2030.
- 60x: The multiple at which one AMC token traded compared to its reference share price.
What is confirmed
Adam Aron has publicly demanded Robinhood halt trading of AMC stock tokens and has threatened legal action. Robinhood has refused to stop and plans to defend the product. Other industry executives have expressed support for Aron's concerns regarding synthetic structures.
Sources
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