Robinhood CEO Acknowledges OpenAI Crypto Stock 'Controversy'—But Is Doubling Down
Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev acknowledged the controversy surrounding the company's introduction of tokenized stocks but remains committed to expanding the initiative. Robinhood recently launched a giveaway of tokens on the Ethereum layer-2 network Arbitrum, representing stock in private companies like OpenAI, which did not authorize the token and criticized its release. The OpenAI token does not represent actual equity or voting rights but tracks perceived market value. Tenev emphasized the importance of providing useful products to customers and plans to extend the tokenized stock initiative to thousands of private companies. The SEC issued a warning about compliance with securities laws related to tokenized stocks shortly after the launch, asserting that tokenized securities are still considered securities. Tenev disputed that the SEC's statement was specifically triggered by Robinhood's actions, suggesting it was a general caution regarding tokenization.
