AMC CEO demands Robinhood halt tokenized stock trading

Sep 4, 2026

AMC Entertainment CEO Adam Aron has demanded that Robinhood halt trading of its unregistered AMC stock tokens, calling the practice vile and threatening legal action. Robinhood Chief Legal Officer Dan Gallagher rejected the demand, telling Aron to send his lawyers. The dispute highlights growing tensions over synthetic tokenized equities, which provide price exposure via offshore debt structures without granting voting or shareholder rights. Following the public clash, the AMC token experienced extreme price dislocation on Uniswap, soaring from $2.54 to over $18 as speculative memecoins flooded the market.

AMC CEO legal threat

▪AMC Entertainment Chief Executive Adam Aron demanded that Robinhood halt the trading of tokenized stock tokens referencing AMC shares and instructed outside securities counsel to examine whether AMC can compel a halt
▪AMC Entertainment Chief Executive Adam Aron stated that AMC plans to raise the issue of Robinhood's tokenized stocks with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

Robinhood tokenized stock structure

▪Robinhood's stock tokens are tokenized debt securities issued out of Jersey by Robinhood Assets (Jersey) Limited, which Robinhood's disclosures describe as unregistered and unsupervised
▪Only authorized participants, starting with BBVI, are permitted to subscribe for stock tokens directly from Robinhood Assets (Jersey) Limited after completing business onboarding
▪Robinhood's stock tokens provide economic exposure to underlying securities but do not grant investors legal or beneficial rights, voting rights, or direct ownership in the underlying companies

Securities law registration dispute

▪Robinhood's disclosures state that its stock tokens have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 and may not be offered or sold to U.S. persons
▪The base prospectus for Robinhood's stock tokens was approved by Liechtenstein's Financial Market Authority under European Union rules
▪AMC Entertainment Chief Executive Adam Aron criticized Robinhood's stock tokens for not being registered under U.S. securities laws, citing Robinhood's own disclosure language

Tokenized equity market growth

▪Following Adam Aron's public criticism on September 3, 2026, the AMC stock token price on Uniswap diverged from the NYSE closing price of $2.54, briefly reaching a high of $18.04
▪At least 23 memecoins, including one named 'A Meme Coin' trading as MEME, launched pools against the AMC stock token on Robinhood Chain after Adam Aron's initial post
▪Robinhood Chain's total value locked reached $839.0 million with $1.69 billion of 24-hour decentralized exchange volume, following its mainnet launch on July 1, 2026
▪The total tokenized stock market has grown to between $3.6 billion and $13.4 billion in 2026, with Citi projecting that tokenized equities could reach $2.7 trillion by 2030

Executive public confrontation

▪Robinhood Chief Executive Vlad Tenev responded to Adam Aron's initial criticism on X by asking, 'What's the concern?'
▪Robinhood Chief Legal Officer Dan Gallagher rejected Adam Aron's demand to cease and desist, posting on X, 'Send your lawyers and we'll educate them.'
▪OpenAI publicly disowned Robinhood tokens tied to its name in 2025, stating it had not partnered with or endorsed Robinhood and that its shares had not been approved for transfer
▪AMC Entertainment Chief Executive Adam Aron initiated the public dispute on September 3, 2026, by posting on X that Robinhood's stock token practice was 'contemptible, outrageous, disgusting, detestable, inexcusable, vile.'

Debatable claims

▪The SEC should regulate offshore tokenized stocks referencing U.S. equities
▪Platforms should not list tokenized stocks without the underlying company's consent
▪Synthetic stock tokens pose unacceptable risks to retail investors
▪Synthetic stock tokens undermine the capital-raising efforts of public companies