Crypto
Home›Crypto›Market Structure›Robinhood CEO says issuer consent is not required for…
Robinhood CEO says issuer consent is not required for tokenized stocks
He said Robinhood’s stock tokens are structured as debt securities backed 1:1 by underlying AMC shares held as collateral, with dividends paid but voting rights excluded.
Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev pushed back on AMC Entertainment CEO Adam Aron’s criticism of Robinhood’s stock tokens, arguing that publicly traded companies do not automatically get veto power over third-party securities that reference their shares, according to CoinDesk. Tenev told CNBC’s Squawk Box that issuer control over the rights and obligations of issued shares does not extend to other companies creating separate financial products tied to those shares.
CoinDesk reports the comments follow a public dispute in which Aron called Robinhood’s stock tokens a “fake market” and threatened to take the matter to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Tenev said issuer consent depends on what exactly is being done and that, for Robinhood’s tokenized stock product, consent should not be automatically required.
CoinDesk also notes that Tenev described Robinhood’s stock tokens as debt securities backed 1:1 by underlying shares held as collateral. He said investors can receive dividends, but the voting rights attached to the underlying shares are not transferred to token holders.
When asked about whether Robinhood plans to vote the shares held as collateral, Tenev said the company has not yet announced its plans, CoinDesk reported. The dispute is part of a wider debate over what should qualify as a tokenized stock and whether issuers should have input when third parties build products tied to their shares.