Five years after Adam Aron and Vlad Tenev became defining figures of the meme-stock boom, the AMC Entertainment chief and Robinhood co-founder are clashing over who creates tradable versions of public company stock. Aron discovered an AMC-linked token trading through Robinhood without the theater chain's involvement, calling the practice "contemptible" and demanding the platform stop. Tenev replied on X, arguing companies should control rights attached to shares but not necessarily veto every financial product built around them.

The dispute highlights a broader question as crypto firms race to put US stocks on blockchains. Products vary: some are backed by actual stock, while others simply track price. Johann Kerbrat, Robinhood's general manager of crypto, compared tokenized stocks to established products like options and ETFs, stating issuers do not have to approve them. Tenev expanded the argument, saying putting products on blockchains shouldn't give issuers a traditional market veto.

Tokenized equity trading remains mostly overseas, with about $2.84 billion outstanding globally, up 14.5% in 30 days. Firms like Superstate and Securitize work directly with companies to preserve voting and dividend rights. However, Benjamin Schiffrin of Better Markets warns retail investors may struggle to distinguish products, as federal securities laws may not protect tokenized shares the same as traditional stock. The backlash reached tech giants, with OpenAI distancing itself and Elon Musk calling the equity "fake." Wall Street is preparing for expansion, with Nasdaq investing $100 million in Payward (Kraken) and BlackRock creating tokenized funds through Securitize.