Vlad Tenev says tokenization can't be stopped as AMC refuses U.S. stock tokens

Vlad Tenev, chairman and chief executive of Robinhood Markets, has argued for a year that stock tokenization cannot be stopped.

On Oct. 15, 2026, AMC Entertainment Chief Executive Adam Aron wrote on X that AMC does not consent to Robinhood stock tokens of its shares in the U.S.

The dispute lands as tokenized stocks held $3.48 billion in distributed value on Oct. 16, up 23.45% in 30 days, according to RWA.xyz data.

Tenev set out his view on stage at TOKEN2049 in Singapore on Oct. 2, 2025, in a conversation with Bloomberg TV anchor Haslinda Amin. A year later, an SEC exemption and an angry issuer are testing it.

Stock tokens grow as Washington opens a door

Tokenized stocks are still a niche market, and a fast-growing one. Holders rose 18.82% in 30 days to 4.42 million as of Oct. 16, according to RWA.xyz.

Trading has been less steady than holdings. Monthly transfer volume was $10.26 billion, down 72.73% from the previous 30 days, by the same data.

The U.S. moved on Sept. 17. The Securities and Exchange Commission granted a five-year Innovation Exemption that lets approved venues trade tokenized U.S.-listed stocks in permissioned liquidity pools, the SEC said.

Commissioner Hester Peirce called the order "an interim step on the road to permanent rules," in a statement on the exemption.

The order sets conditions. Venues must confirm that tokens carry the same rights as the underlying shares, cap the number of symbols and the volume traded, and give an unaffiliated issuer written notice and a chance to object, according to the SEC.

'Like a freight train'

Tenev's core claim is that tokenization will spread whatever incumbents think of it.

"I think tokenization is like a freight train. It can't be stopped," Tenev said.

He put stock tokens on the same track as dollar tokens. "A stablecoin is a tokenized real-world asset," he said, and he described cryptocurrency and traditional finance as "living in two separate worlds for a while."

The numbers so far back the direction more than the scale. Robinhood said its Stock Token trading reached $15 billion in total about 100 days after its blockchain went live on July 1, 2026, a company-reported figure, Crypto Briefing reported Oct. 12.

Holdings are smaller. Robinhood's 190 tokenized stocks held $145.9 million on Oct. 16, about 4% of the tokenized-stock total and fifth among issuers, our calculation from RWA.xyz data shows.

Europe first, the U.S. later

Tenev predicted that the U.S. would trail Europe. He said Americans had less reason to switch because "we have a financial system that works decently well in the US."

He also said most major markets would "have some framework in the next five years."

That call has held up so far. Robinhood launched stock tokens in the European Union in June 2025, starting with private-company shares such as OpenAI. Its tokens are still offered only outside the U.S., the UK and Canada, Crypto Briefing reported.

The U.S. route arrived 11 months after Tenev spoke, and it arrived as a temporary exemption rather than a permanent rule. His five-year framework has, in the U.S. case, become a five-year trial.

Who controls a tokenized share?

Tenev says issuers control their stock, not every product that references it.

"Issuers should have control and do have control over the rights and obligations of the stock that they issue," he told CNBC on Sept. 9, as reported by Stocktwits.

He compared stock tokens with American depositary receipts, exchange-traded funds and structured notes. "I don't think just because something's on the blockchain means that it should be handled anything any differently," Tenev said.

Robinhood says its tokens are backed one-to-one by the underlying shares and carry no voting rights.

The SEC's order gives issuers more say than that argument implies. A venue trading third-party tokens must notify the issuer and let it object, and Peirce said issuers that do not want their stock on such venues can opt out.

By the numbers

The other side: AMC says no

Aron's objection is the first public test of that opt-out. "They are fake, synthetic shares, which could impact our capital structure," he wrote on X, Stocktwits reported Oct. 16.

He added that AMC "should control our financial destiny, not Robinhood." The fight began in early September, when Aron attacked Robinhood's token of AMC shares sold outside the U.S. and Tenev defended it on CNBC days later.

Peirce's reading cuts both ways. Issuers can opt out, she said, and the exemption covers only one model of on-chain trading.

How we got here

• June 2025: Robinhood launches stock tokens in the European Union, starting with private-company shares.
• Oct. 2, 2025: Tenev calls tokenization a freight train at TOKEN2049 in Singapore.
• July 1, 2026: Robinhood's own blockchain goes live.
• Sept. 9, 2026: Tenev tells CNBC that issuers do not control every product built on their shares.
• Sept. 17, 2026: The SEC issues its five-year Innovation Exemption for tokenized stocks.

What to watch: opt-outs and permanent rules

The SEC asked for public comment on every part of the exemption, Chairman Paul Atkins said Sept. 17. Those comments feed the permanent rules that Peirce described as the next step.

The exemption runs for five years from publication, so on current terms the U.S. trial ends in 2031 unless permanent rules replace it sooner.

The first signal will be whether a U.S. venue lists tokens of a company that objects. If AMC's opt-out holds, issuer consent becomes the gate for U.S. stock tokens.

The second is trading. A rebound in monthly transfer volume from the latest 72.73% drop would show that holders are using the tokens, not just keeping them.

What we do not know is how many issuers will follow AMC, and whether Robinhood will seek a U.S. venue under the exemption.

How we reported this: Tenev's remarks come from his Oct. 2, 2025, TOKEN2049 session, checked against the video's auto-generated captions, and his Sept. 9, 2026, CNBC interview as reported by Stocktwits. Exemption terms come from the SEC's Sept. 17 release and Commissioner Peirce's statement. Market figures come from RWA.xyz as of Oct. 16; Robinhood's 4% share is our calculation: $145.9 million / $3.48 billion.