Robinhood CEO Defends Tokenized Stocks, Says Issuers Lack Control Once Shares Trade Publicly
Updated
Updated · CNBC · Sep 9
Robinhood CEO Defends Tokenized Stocks, Says Issuers Lack Control Once Shares Trade Publicly
3 articles · Updated · CNBC · Sep 9
Summary
Vlad Tenev said Robinhood’s stock tokens should not automatically need issuer consent, arguing public companies cannot control third-party products built around their publicly traded shares.
Robinhood structures the tokens as debt securities backed by underlying shares, which Tenev described as a technology-neutral wrapper rather than direct ownership of the stock itself.
AMC’s criticism triggered the defense: CEO Adam Aron said tokenized AMC shares let brokers create exposure without the company’s involvement, weakening the traditional company-shareholder relationship.
Tenev acknowledged token holders get no voting rights in the underlying company and said Robinhood has not announced how it would use the voting rights attached to the backing shares.