AMC CEO Adam Allen criticizes Robinhood for launching tokenized AMC shares

AMC Entertainment CEO Adam Aron rejected Robin Hood tokenized products, saying he would seek legal advice.

AMC Entertainment CEO Adam Aron has explicitly rejected Robinhood tokenized products linked to AMC shares, and said the theater chain will seek legal advice on related products issued without company involvement.

Allen said that AMC has no connection with the tokenized product that tracks AMC shares and does not endorse such behavior. He described the practice as "contemptuous" and "appalling" and noted that AMC would hire outside securities legal counsel to investigate the matter.

Robin Hood's stock tokens are designed to provide economic exposure to the underlying stock, but the holder does not own shares in the relevant company and does not enjoy shareholder rights.

Previously, OpenAI had also rejected Robin Hood tokens related to the company, stating that these tokens were not equity in OpenAI and were not endorsed by the company.

AMC denies any connection to the Robin Hood tokenization project

According to Allen, although there is a product named after the company and tracks its publicly traded stocks, AMC has nothing to do with Robin Hood's efforts to tokenize real-world assets and "stock tokens."

Allen wrote on Platform X (formerly Twitter):"Robin Hood is clearly promoting a plan related to AMC Entertainment related to 'tokenized real-world assets including stock tokens.' We have nothing to do with it and will not recognize it under any circumstances."

The AMC CEO described the practice as "contemptuous" and "appalling" and added that the company plans to require external securities legal advisers to review the matter.

AMC rejects Robin Hood tokenized stock products

Allen's objections focus on the difference between AMC's publicly traded stocks and blockchain-based financial products designed to provide price exposure.

Robin Hood's stock tokens do not make investors shareholders in the companies they track. Its Classic Stock Tokens are derivative contracts that provide economic exposure to U.S. stocks and exchange-traded products, but the holders do not own the underlying shares or receive shareholder rights such as voting rights.

According to the broker, Robin Hood owns assets that support its classic stock tokens and holds those assets through a U.S. licensed institution. These contracts are issued under the European Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (MiFID II).

Another type of transferable Robin Hood stock token adopts a different structure. These ERC-20 assets are tokenized debt securities issued by Robin Hood Assets (Jersey) Ltd., which provide economic exposure to the underlying securities but do not grant legal or beneficial rights against the company issuing the shares.

This difference has become increasingly apparent as financial institutions try to introduce stock exposure into blockchain through different structures. Some products are derivatives that track the price of securities, while other models hold shares through a custodian and issue tokens backed by underlying equity.

Issuer Sponsored tokenization of takes it one step further by listing registered shares and involving companies representing their equity.

Robin Hood pushes tokenized stocks further onto the chain

Robin Hood focuses its international expansion on the first model. Its European platform currently advertises that there are more than 2,000 classic stock tokens linked to U.S. stocks and exchange-traded products, available for trading 24 hours a day from Monday to Friday.

In July this year, with Robin Hood launching the "Robinhood Chain" of the Ethereum Layer 2 network built based on Arbitrum technology, its tokenization plan further expanded onto the chain.

As previously reported, the July 1 launch will open the service of trading stock tokens through Robin Hood Wallet to qualified users in more than 120 countries around the world, subject to local restrictions. The network aims to support tokenization of real-world assets and decentralized financial applications.

Robin Hood Chain was launched with 95 tokenized stocks, as well as infrastructure that allowed these assets to interact with decentralized exchanges and lending applications. Stock tokens on the network can be transferred as ERC-20 assets and integrated into on-chain applications.

Usage has increased since then. Hayden Adams, founder of Uniswap, said the volume of tokenized shares traded on the Robin Hood Chain through Uniswap reached $1 billion in August.

The product is still not open to U.S. investors. Robin Hood said stock tokens issued by his Jersey entity are not registered under U.S. securities laws and cannot be provided, sold or delivered directly or indirectly within the United States or to U.S. persons.

Robin Hood's tokenization strategy goes beyond simply copying the trading experience of a brokerage account. Stock tokens on its blockchain can be transferred between supported wallets and applications, traded through a decentralized exchange, and integrated into DeFi products.

According to a FalconX report disclosed in July, within three weeks of its launch, the network's total lock-in value has reached US$431 million, and the market value of stablecoins is close to US$400 million. At the time, Robin Hood's tokenized stock was approximately $14 million, compared with approximately $851 million for Ondo and approximately $481 million for xStocks.

OpenAI has previously rejected Robin Hood tokens

AMC is not the first company to oppose Robin Hood products because the name was used but did not participate.

In July 2025, OpenAI rejected Robin Hood tokens associated with the privately held artificial intelligence company. Robin Hood announced a promotion at the time to give eligible European customers access to OpenAI and SpaceX.

OpenAI stated at the time: "These 'OpenAI tokens' are not OpenAI equity." It added that the company did not work with Robin Hood and did not endorse the product.

Robin Hood CEO Vlad Tenev defended the product after OpenAI responded, explaining that the tokens were designed to provide retail investors with indirect exposure to private assets. The structure uses a special purpose vehicle that holds economic interests related to OpenAI rather than shares issued directly by the company to token holders.

This disagreement exposes the same ownership differences now involved in AMC objections: A financial product can track or provide economic exposure to a company without having to be equity in or endorsed by the company.

Robin Hood's publicly traded stock tokens use similar terminology with specific disclosures about investor rights. Company statement holders gain economic exposure to the underlying securities but do not acquire legal or beneficial rights against the issuer.

The tokenized stock model takes on diverse forms

Other financial and cryptocurrency companies are pursuing structures that more directly link tokens to underlying shares. [TAG Base founder Jesse Pollak said in July that the Ethereum Layer 2 network and Coinbase are working together to develop tokenized stocks backed 1:1 by actual underlying shares. [TAG Pollack contrasted the structure in this plan with Robin Hood derivatives, saying Coinbase and Base were preparing models backed by equity one-for-one. He admitted that Robin Hood was making faster progress at the time in bringing tokenized stocks into an environment compatible with Ethereum virtual machines.

Robin Hood itself continues to build infrastructure around its version of the market. Its July main online line combines tokenized stocks with decentralized lending, perpetual futures and other blockchain-based financial products.

Stock tokens can use Chainlink price feeds on the Robin Hood Chain, allowing applications to read prices directly on the chain. The ERC-20 format means developers can integrate these assets into compatible wallets, trading venues, and DeFi protocols without the need for a separate token standard.

AMC has not announced legal action against Robin Hood. Allen said the company will first ask external securities legal advisers to review the tokenized AMC products and their use of the company's name.