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Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev says public companies should not automatically have the power to block third-party products tied to their shares, extending a dispute with AMC Entertainment over the brokerage’s stock tokens.
Tenev said issuers should control the rights and obligations attached to shares they issue, but that authority should not automatically extend to separate products created by other firms that reference those shares. His comments follow AMC CEO Adam Aron’s demand that Robinhood stop offering AMC-linked tokens.
AMC Says It Never Approved Tokens Tied to Its Shares
Aron has argued that Robinhood created a parallel market linked to AMC without the company’s authorization. He has questioned investor protections and threatened to raise the matter with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Robinhood rejects the premise that AMC’s permission is required. Tenev said issuer consent should depend on the rights a product creates rather than whether blockchain technology is used to represent it.
The dispute remains unresolved. No court or SEC ruling has established that public companies can require third parties to obtain consent before offering products structured like Robinhood’s stock tokens.
Robinhood Tokens Provide Price Exposure Without Shareholder Rights
Robinhood’s products do not give investors direct ownership of AMC or other referenced companies. Its European disclosures describe Classic Stock Tokens as derivative contracts that track underlying securities without granting holders rights in those shares.
The underlying assets are owned by Robinhood and held with a U.S.-licensed institution. Investors receive economic exposure to their price and may receive dividend-related payments when eligible, but they do not become direct shareholders through the tokens.
Robinhood offers more than 2,000 Classic Stock Tokens in Europe under MiFID II rules. The products are not available to U.S. customers.
Robinhood and AMC Remain Divided Over Issuer Consent
Robinhood has faced a similar objection before. OpenAI objected in 2025 after the brokerage offered tokens providing exposure to the private company, with Tenev responding that the products were derivatives rather than OpenAI equity.
The AMC dispute applies that consent question to shares of a publicly traded company. Robinhood intends to continue supporting its stock-token products, while Aron maintains that AMC should have a say over products tied to its shares. No regulator or court has resolved the disagreement.
