AMC Entertainment CEO Adam Aron lashed out at Robinhood’s tokenized version of the movie-theater chain’s shares Thursday, shining a spotlight on synthetic stocks on blockchains that track companies without their involvement.
“Robinhood apparently is behind an effort related to ‘tokenized real-world assets including Stock Tokens’ for AMC Entertainment,” Aron wrote on X. “We have no connection to this at all, and do not condone it in any way.”
Aron called the practice “contemptible” and “outrageous” and said AMC would ask outside securities counsel to examine the matter.
The clash comes as tokenized equities are drawing interest from crypto exchanges, brokers and Wall Street firms, because blockchain rails can enable around-the-clock trading and faster settlements and broader distribution.
But products carrying the same company name can represent different legal claims, ranging from derivatives tracking a stock price to actual registered shares issued onchain.
Robinhood’s stock tokens are derivatives that provide economic exposure to U.S. equities without giving holders ownership of the underlying shares. Other models hold conventional shares with a custodian and issue tokens backed by them, while issuer-sponsored approaches put a company’s registered shares directly onchain with the company’s consent.
The response of CEO of AMC shows that issuers may push back as synthetic versions of their shares proliferate without their participation.
Robinhood has made tokenization a central part of its crypto expansion. The brokerage rolled out tokens tracking hundreds of U.S. stocks and ETFs last year and is building its own blockchain to support tokenized assets.
The rollout had already drawn pushback from at least one company whose names appeared on the products.
OpenAI last year publicly disavowed Robinhood’s tokens linked to the privately held artificial-intelligence company, saying they were not OpenAI equity and that it had neither partnered with nor endorsed Robinhood’s offering. Robinhood said the tokens provided indirect exposure through a special-purpose vehicle (SPV).
AMC’s objection brings the same tension now to a publicly traded company.
Read more: NYSE tokenization partners warn synthetic stock tokens could mislead retail traders
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