SEC Backs Real Stock Tokens Over Synthetics: Who Loses?

AMC’s chief executive called Robinhood’s stock tokens vile. On Thursday, the US Securities and Exchange Commission approved onchain stock trading and barred synthetic tokens from it.

The order names no companies. It does name conditions, and two of them match the objections AMC raised in public.

What AMC’s Boss Actually Said

Robinhood extended tokenized stocks to AMC and more than 190 other companies through Robinhood Assets Limited. The firms never signed on.

“I find this practice to be contemptible, outrageous, disgusting, detestable, inexcusable, vile. How can it possibly be legal? We have no connection to this at all…” Adam Aron stated.

Chief executive Vlad Tenev answered that a company cannot control every product built on its shares once they trade publicly.

He described the tokens as debt securities backed one to one by shares held as collateral. Buyers get the price. They get no vote.

What the SEC Put in the Thursday Writing

Venues must verify that a token gives holders the same rights and privileges as the ordinary share. Before listing a token created by an outside firm, they must notify the company and let it object.

Atkins titled that section of his statement “No Synthetics.”

“Today, the SEC is taking a significant step forward… to bring America’s capital markets into the digital age,” the chairman said.

Access is the catch. Only approved participants can trade, even though the smart contracts must run on public blockchains anyone can inspect.

Symbol counts and volumes are capped. Onchain trading stops when the listed share halts. The relief expires in five years.

Venues must also publish trade data at set intervals, including price, size, time and daily volume. In exchange, they avoid being treated as a stock exchange.

Robinhood has since started promising voting rights and redemption for its tokens.

“Robinhood supports the SEC innovation exemption. Americans deserve access to crypto technology and all of the financial innovations it makes possible, including instant settlement, 24/7 trading, and fractionalization by default,” the company said following the regulator’s release.

Johann Kerbrat, senior vice president and general manager of crypto and international at Robinhood, called the exemption a major step that would let liquid tokenized securities markets develop onshore.

Two of the three things on that list were being debated, with the SEC holding a separate roundtable on round-the-clock stock trading the same day. Robinhood was on the panel.

Atkins called the measure temporary and said permanent rules must follow. The SEC is taking public comment first.

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