Overview

  • Adam Aron has publicly criticized Robinhood regarding tokens that mirror AMC's stock price.
  • The AMC CEO stated that the company will consult with external securities counsel about the issue.
  • According to Robinhood, these tokens are debt securities that offer no rights to AMC and are unavailable to U.S. investors.

Adam Aron, the CEO of AMC Entertainment, expressed strong disapproval of Robinhood's issuance of tokens that track the price of AMC shares without the company's consent, in a tweet on Wednesday.

Describing the practice as "contemptible, outrageous, disgusting, detestable, inexcusable, vile," Aron emphasized that AMC has no affiliation with this initiative and questioned its legality. He highlighted that the tokens are not registered under U.S. securities laws, stating that the company would promptly have its external securities counsel investigate the matter. Robinhood's program reportedly includes tokens for over 190 companies.

It appears that Robinhood is involved in a scheme concerning “tokenized real-world assets, including Stock Tokens” for AMC Entertainment and reportedly over 190 other firms. They are not registered under U.S. securities laws!!!

I find this practice to be contemptible and outrageous,…

— Adam Aron (@CEOAdam) September 3, 2026

According to Robinhood's documentation, their Stock Tokens represent tokenized debt securities issued by Robinhood Assets (Jersey) Limited, allowing holders to gain economic exposure to a stock price without any legal rights to the underlying shares or claims against the issuing company. Thus, holders of AMC tokens do not have any entitlement to AMC itself.

These tokens are not registered in the United States and cannot be offered to U.S. residents, a term derived from Regulation S. They also face restrictions in Canada, the U.K., and Switzerland. The base prospectus has received approval from Liechtenstein's Financial Market Authority under EU regulations. Robinhood's issuer page states that the Jersey entity "is not regulated," and the consents it possesses do not imply any form of supervision or endorsement.

Robinhood and Tokenized Stocks

Last year, Robinhood distributed tokens linked to OpenAI and SpaceX to users in Europe. OpenAI clarified that it had not collaborated with Robinhood, was not involved, and did not endorse the product, emphasizing that any equity transfer required prior approval that had not been granted. CEO Vlad Tenev regarded the launch as a significant milestone, suggesting that thousands of private companies could follow suit.