tl;dr
Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev acknowledged controversy over the company's issuance of tokenized OpenAI stock, calling it a "big milestone." The tokens allowed tracking of OpenAI's private company price but did not grant equity or voting rights and were unauthorized by OpenAI, which condemned the move. Ro...
Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev acknowledged that the company's recent issuance of tokenized OpenAI stock sparked controversy but described the move as a "big milestone." The tokenized stock allowed holders to track the private company’s price but did not grant any equity or voting rights. OpenAI did not authorize this token and condemned the initiative shortly after its launch.
Tenev emphasized that being a pioneer in tokenizing stock from prominent companies naturally generates debate. Earlier this month, Robinhood launched an airdrop of tokens on the Ethereum layer-2 network Arbitrum, representing stakes in private companies like OpenAI. However, the tokens did not represent actual ownership and were distributed exclusively in Europe.
Despite backlash from OpenAI and considerable media attention, Tenev remains focused on the potential of tokenized stocks and sees the offering as a valuable product for customers. He is excited to expand the program to cover thousands of private companies and pursue deeper integration with decentralized finance (DeFi) through future phases of the initiative.
Robinhood’s tokenized stock rollout also caught the attention of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Soon after the product launch, the SEC cautioned firms on complying with securities laws when dealing with blockchain-based stock products. SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce stressed that blockchain cannot change the status of securities and that market participants must follow federal regulations.
Tenev responded by saying the SEC’s remarks were not specifically prompted by Robinhood’s efforts but were a general call for safe and regulated tokenization practices. He affirmed Robinhood’s commitment to working with regulators to create a compliant framework for this emerging asset class.