After the disagreements between AMC Entertainment and Robinhood regarding tokenized stocks became public, the market reacted swiftly. AMC The stock price once rose by 14%. The focus of the controversy is that the AMC tokens launched by Robinhood did not have company authorization, yet they could be held and transferred on the blockchain.
AMC refers to unauthorized related tokens
AMC, the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman, stated on the X platform that the company has 'no relation' to such tokens, having neither approved nor endorsed them. He also questioned how such products, which are not registered under U.S. securities laws, are offered to the market in the name of AMC stocks.
Aron also indicates that AMC has requested external securities lawyers to review this matter. He described the relevant practices as 'unacceptable', with a rather strong tone.
The CEO, Vlad Tenev, subsequently responded publicly with just a brief question: 'What is the problem?'
Tokens can be circulated on the blockchain.
The report mentions that these types of stock tokens are issued using the ERC-20 standard. This means that the related assets can not only be held within the platform but also transferred across the blockchain and integrated with other blockchain applications.
This also means that the controversy does not remain solely at the level of brand usage. Once tokenized stocks enter the blockchain environment, it involves issues such as securities attributes, cross-border sales restrictions, and whether the issuer requires authorization.
Compliance disputes are not solely determined by whether a registration has been made or not.
From the existing information, not completing securities registration in the United States does not automatically equate to the product being illegal. The U.S. 'S Regulation' allows certain securities to be issued and sold outside of the United States without registration under certain conditions.
Robinhood clearly restricts its stock tokens to be provided to US users. This means that the core of the dispute is not necessarily just 'whether to register' or not, but also whether such products can replicate stock exposures without the participation of listed companies.
AMC is not either the first company to raise objections. Previously, OpenAI also opposed the Robinhood token related to it, emphasizing that such tokens do not represent OpenAI equity and that they were issued without authorization from the company.
This incident once again demonstrates that tokenized securities are technically capable of entering into on-chain circulation, but there are still significant differences in the market regarding company authorization, investor awareness, and cross-border compliance.
