Robinhood CEO says issuers should not have veto over tokenized stocks

Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev said companies should not have veto power over tokenized stock products that do not change shareholder rights, issuer obligations or a company’s official stock ledger. 

In a post on X on Friday, Tenev said the question of issuer consent depends on whether a tokenized product changes the rights attached to the underlying shares or creates new obligations for the company or its transfer agent. If it does, he said the issuer should be involved. 

However, Tenev said if the product creates a separate financial instrument that holds or references freely transferable shares without changing the issuer’s rights, obligations, or shareholder record, issuer consent should not be required.

The comments came after AMC Entertainment CEO Adam Aron criticized Robinhood’s tokenized stock offerings on Sept. 4, saying AMC had no affiliation with the products and would ask securities counsel to review them. 

Tenev said Robinhood Stock Tokens use a third-party structure, with separately issued instruments backed 1:1 by underlying shares. The products provide economic exposure to stocks and exchange-traded funds without changing an issuer’s cap table or rights attached to its shares. 

“Going onchain shouldn’t give the issuer a veto it never had offchain,” Tenev said.

Related: Robinhood chain to generate $160M in annual fees by 2028: Bernstein