AMC Entertainment CEO Adam Aron publicly rejected Robinhood’s tokenized product linked to AMC shares on Thursday, stating the theater chain has no connection to the offering and does not condone it. Aron wrote on X that Robinhood is behind an effort related to “tokenized real-world assets including Stock Tokens” for AMC Entertainment, describing the practice as “contemptible and outrageous” and adding that AMC will immediately ask outside securities counsel to examine the matter.
The dispute centers on the structure of Robinhood’s stock tokens. Robinhood says its Classic Stock Tokens are derivative contracts that provide economic exposure to U.S. stocks and exchange-traded products, while holders do not own the underlying shares or receive shareholder rights such as voting rights. A separate transferable version uses ERC-20 tokenized debt securities issued by Robinhood Assets (Jersey) Limited. These products are not registered under U.S. securities laws and are not offered or sold to U.S. persons. Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev responded to Aron’s post with a one-line question: “What’s the concern?”
The legal tension follows Robinhood’s July 1 launch of Robinhood Chain, an Ethereum Layer 2 network built using Arbitrum technology. The network opened Stock Token trading through Robinhood Wallet to eligible users in more than 120 countries, starting with 95 tokenized equities and enabling integration with decentralized exchanges and lending applications. Robinhood says combined tokenized-stock trading volume through Uniswap on Robinhood Chain reached $1 billion in August, and the network had attracted $431 million in total value locked within three weeks of launch.
AMC is not the first company to object to Robinhood’s tokenization. In July 2025, OpenAI rejected Robinhood tokens linked to the private AI company, saying they were not OpenAI equity and had not been endorsed by the firm. Tenev defended that product as indirect exposure rather than equity. The broader tokenized stock market has grown sharply, with total market capitalization reaching $13.4 billion as of Sept. 1, up from $2.5 billion at the start of the year, according to The Block’s data dashboard. AMC stock rose nearly 21% in overnight trading to $3.07.
AMC has not announced formal legal action. Aron said the company will first ask outside securities counsel to review the tokenized AMC product and the circumstances surrounding the use of the company’s name.
