AMC stock jumps 21% overnight as CEO slams Robinhood over 'outrageous' tokenized shares

AMC Entertainment Holdings CEO and Chairman Adam Aron has harshly criticized Robinhood for tokenizing U.S. stocks, including AMC's.

In a social media post on Thursday, Aron stated that the tokenized versions of U.S. stocks are not registered under federal securities laws and questioned how the offering could be legal.

"I find this practice to be contemptible, outrageous, disgusting, detestable, inexcusable, vile," Aron commented. "How can it possibly be legal? We have no connection to this at all, and do not condone it in any way."

The AMC CEO added that the company will immediately have its outside securities counsel review the matter.

Meanwhile, Robinhood CEO and Chairman Vlad Tenev replied to Aron's post with a simple question: "What's the concern?" The Block has reached out to Robinhood Robinhood Markets, Inc. (HOOD) for further comment.

Robinhood's own document says that stock tokens are tokenized debt securities issued by an offshore-based affiliate, Robinhood Assets. These tokens give holders exposure to the underlying stock but do not give them legal ownership of the company or shareholder rights.

The fintech giant stipulates that tokenized stocks have not been registered as securities in the U.S. and may not be offered in the country.

AMC stock is up nearly 21% in overnight trading at $3.07, according to TradingView.

Not the first

Aron's criticism centers on two points: AMC did not take part in the token issuance, and the tokens are not registered under U.S. securities law.

A similar dispute involving Robinhood took place last year, when OpenAI publicly rejected Robinhood's token offerings tied to the AI company. OpenAI said the tokens were not OpenAI equity, that it had not partnered with Robinhood or endorsed the product, and that it had not approved any transfer of its shares.

Tenev said at the time the tokens were “not technically equity” but derivatives that give retail investors exposure to the private company. He also argued that tokenization should not require an opt-in from the firms being tokenized.

Tokenized stocks have gained traction by enabling round-the-clock trading, faster settlement, and access through crypto wallets and onchain markets, making regional equities accessible to global investors.

According to The Block's data dashboard, tokenized stocks have reached a total market cap of $13.4 billion as of Sept. 1, from just $2.5 billion at the start of this year.

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