AMC Entertainment CEO Adam Aron has renewed his fight with Robinhood over digital products linked to the movie theater chain’s shares. On Thursday, Aron said AMC “does not consent” to Robinho
AMC Entertainment CEO Adam Aron has renewed his fight with Robinhood over digital products linked to the movie theater chain’s shares.
On Thursday, Aron said AMC “does not consent” to Robinhood creating stock tokens tied to its shares, calling them “fake, synthetic shares.”
Robinhood’s stock tokens are tokenised debt securities issued by Robinhood Assets (Jersey) Limited, a Robinhood subsidiary. They track the price of stocks such as AMC but do not give holders ownership or voting rights in the underlying company, and they are not available to U.S. investors.
What are tokenized stocks? Why do they matter? (12:22)Aron said the products “could impact our capital structure,” adding that “AMC should control our financial destiny, not Robinhood.” The dispute comes ahead of AMC’s third-quarter earnings, currently expected in early November.
The clash began Sept. 3, when Aron discovered Robinhood was offering a token linked to AMC stock.
He called the practice “contemptible, outrageous, disgusting, detestable, inexcusable, vile,” and asked, “How can it possibly be legal?”
A day later, Aron demanded Robinhood stop. CEO Vlad Tenev responded, “What’s the concern?”
Robinhood legal chief Dan Gallagher was more direct: “Send your lawyers and we’ll educate them.”
The token's structure also complicates AMC’s legal argument.
Lawyers previously told Decrypt there was no obvious U.S. securities-law violation under Robinhood’s offshore setup, though trademark or false-association claims could present another route.
The SEC on Sept. 17 introduced a five-year “Innovation Exemption” allowing certain tokenized U.S. stocks to trade onchain.
For third-party tokenized stocks covered by the exemption, issuers must receive notice and be given an opportunity to object. But the SEC explicitly excludes products that merely provide synthetic exposure to another company’s shares from its definition of eligible tokenized NMS stock.
That distinction matters because Robinhood itself describes its products as debt securities rather than actual AMC shares.
No lawsuit or SEC investigation into the dispute has been announced, and Robinhood has not said it will stop offering the product.
Related: Ripple veteran has viral Sydney Sweeney moment in New York
