Robinhood CEO says public companies cannot block tokenized stock products

Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev used a recent interview to answer AMC’s criticism of tokenized shares, arguing that once a company’s stock is publicly traded, other financial institutions should be allowed to create related financial products without first getting the issuer’s permission. He said publicly traded shares are, in essence, transferable property held by shareholders, and that products referencing those shares should not automatically require approval from the listed company. Tenev also said Robinhood’s stock tokens are issued by an independent entity and backed by the corresponding underlying shares. In his view, that structure means prior consent from the companies tied to those stocks should not be assumed to be necessary. AMC CEO Adam Aron had previously attacked Robinhood’s tokenized AMC stock, saying the move bypassed the issuing company and weakened the traditional relationship between a company and its shareholders. Aron also argued that holders of the stock tokens do not have voting rights in the underlying shares. On the question of how Robinhood would exercise the voting rights attached to those underlying shares, Aron said the company had not yet announced a specific plan, according to CNBC.