Robinhood CEO Says Issuer Consent Should Not Be Required for Tokenized Stock Products

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. According to Cointelegraph, Tenev said in a post on X on Friday that the need for issuer consent depends on whether a tokenized product alters 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, he added that 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. He said the products provide economic exposure to stocks and exchange-traded funds without changing an issuer’s cap table or the rights attached to its shares. Tenev added that going onchain should not give the issuer a veto it never had offchain.