AMC's Collateral Question Exposes Three Different Answers to What a Tokenised Share Actually Is
Updated: 6 days ago
A dispute that began with AMC's chief executive calling Robinhood's stock tokens "vile" has escalated into a question about whether lent-out collateral is still there. The row is surfacing three genuinely different structures now competing under the same "tokenised equity" label, and the differences matter for the future and integrity of the markets.
AMC Entertainment's chief executive, Adam Aron, asked Robinhood at the weekend whether the shares backing its AMC stock tokens are still held once some of them have been lent out to short sellers. He put the question directly to Robinhood's chief executive, Vlad Tenev, and its chief legal officer, Dan Gallagher, on X. By Sunday afternoon, Robinhood had not answered.
The question is a sharper version of one that has been building since 3 September, when Aron discovered that Robinhood had listed a token tracking AMC among more than 190 companies without the company's knowledge or consent. It also touches on the issues raised by the on-going Gamestop saga and the widespread accusations of naked short selling by institutions.
Aron has called the practice "contemptible and vile" and threatened to involve the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Tenev's initial reply, "What's the concern?", did little to settle things, and Gallagher, a former SEC commissioner, said the company knew US securities law and had no plans to stop. Tenev later floated the idea that he and Aron could "hug it out" at a Goldman Sachs conference in San Francisco. Three days after that, Aron asked about collateral instead.
That question reaches beyond one cinema chain, because it lands on a structural fault line running through the entire tokenised equity market. Robinhood, via its Jersey-registered issuer Robinhood Assets (Jersey) Limited, structures each token as a debt security backed one-for-one by a share held as collateral, with dividend adjustments passed through but no voting rights attached. If shares set aside as backing can be lent to short sellers in the ordinary course of custody, as Aron's question implies, the token holder is exposed to a counterparty and collateral chain that a plain shareholding does not carry.
Kraken's parent, Payward, runs a similar but distinct model through its own Jersey vehicle, Backed Assets (JE) Limited. Its xStocks product also launched without voting rights, but in August 2026 Payward struck a deal with proxy infrastructure provider Broadridge to let eligible xStocks holders submit voting preferences on the underlying shares, closing part of the gap with a genuine shareholding. By last week, xStocks had more than $800 million in backing assets and over 300,000 holders.
Nasdaq's approach, following its $100 million investment in Payward announced this month, is different again. Nasdaq has said its planned tokens, targeted for native issuance around the second quarter of 2027, will carry the same voting rights as the underlying shares themselves, rather than a synthetic or contractual approximation of them.
Three issuers, three answers to the same question: what does a token holder actually own.
The SEC's own staff drew a version of this line in January, stating that the format of a security does not change the law that applies to it, and that holders of third-party tokens carry the issuing platform's own business risk, including the possibility of its insolvency. Archax chief executive Graham Rodford put the underlying complaint more plainly to CoinDesk: "a tokenized stock should mean the stock, tokenized."
For UK readers, the relevance is not abstract. London Stock Exchange Group's own tokenisation push, running through its Payward partnership to bring London-listed stocks on-chain, sits on the same spectrum, and the FCA and Bank of England's joint work on wholesale tokenisation will eventually have to take a view on which of these structures, if any, it wants UK market infrastructure to resemble. The market is currently deciding this question issuer by issuer, through customer service disputes on social media, rather than through a single settled standard. Tokenised equities were worth roughly $13.4 billion on 1 September, up from $2.5 billion at the start of the year, according to CoinShares figures cited by Markets Media. At that pace of growth, the industry is unlikely to get the luxury of resolving the collateral question slowly.
Key Takeaways
AMC chief executive Adam Aron asked Robinhood on 13 September whether shares backing its AMC stock tokens remain available once lent to short sellers, an escalation of a dispute that began on 3 September when Robinhood listed AMC and 190-plus other companies as tokens without their consent.
Robinhood's tokens are debt securities backed one-for-one by collateral shares, issued via Robinhood Assets (Jersey) Limited, with no voting rights.
Kraken parent Payward's xStocks, issued via Backed Assets (JE) Limited, added proxy voting through a Broadridge partnership in August 2026, moving closer to a real shareholding; xStocks holders passed 300,000 with over $800 million in backing assets last week.
Nasdaq's tokens, following its $100 million investment in Payward, are planned to carry the same voting rights as the underlying shares from native issuance targeted around Q2 2027.
The SEC's January staff guidance says token format does not change the securities law that applies, and third-party token holders carry the issuing platform's own business risk; the question of which structure UK market infrastructure should follow remains open for the FCA, Bank of England and London Stock Exchange.
Sources
AMC Chief Asks Robinhood Whether Its Stock Tokens Are Fully Backed (originally Finance Magnates, Damian Chmiel)
Kraken parent Payward shifts position on tokenized equities and voting rights, The Block
Nasdaq invests $100m in Kraken parent, targets Q2 2027 for native tokenized equities, Ledger Insights
Frequently asked questions
Why is AMC's chief executive disputing Robinhood's AMC stock tokens?
On 3 September 2026 Adam Aron discovered that Robinhood had listed a token tracking AMC among more than 190 companies without AMC's knowledge or consent. He later asked Robinhood whether the shares backing the tokens are still held once some have been lent to short sellers.
How are Robinhood stock tokens structured?
Robinhood issues its tokens through Robinhood Assets (Jersey) Limited as debt securities backed one-for-one by a share held as collateral. Dividend adjustments are passed through, but no voting rights are attached.
How do Kraken's xStocks differ from Robinhood's tokens?
xStocks are issued by Kraken parent Payward through Backed Assets (JE) Limited. In August 2026 Payward partnered with Broadridge so eligible xStocks holders can submit voting preferences on the underlying shares.
Will Nasdaq's tokenised shares carry voting rights?
Nasdaq has said its planned tokens, targeted for native issuance around the second quarter of 2027, will carry the same voting rights as the underlying shares rather than a synthetic or contractual approximation.
What has the SEC said about third-party stock tokens?
SEC staff stated in January that the format of a security does not change the law that applies to it. Holders of third-party tokens carry the issuing platform's own business risk, including the possibility of its insolvency.
This article is general information, not investment advice.
Comments