Autor Cointelegraph by Zoltan Vardai

Adam Aron, the CEO of AMC Entertainment Holdings, criticized Robinhood’s tokenized stock offerings that provide economic exposure to AMC shares, stating the company has no affiliation and that it will have a securities counsel investigate the matter.Robinhood’s stock tokens are not registered under US securities laws and are an “outrageous” offering with no affiliation to AMC, Aron wrote in a Friday X post, adding that the company will request an investigation from its outside securities counsel.Aron added that these stocks may not be offered to US investors and that they are subject to restrictions in several other jurisdictions, including Canada, Switzerland and the UK.The remarks come as the latest criticism targeting tokenized stocks, which are blockchain-based shares tracking the price of traditional company shares. Tokenized stock recently came under scrutiny when some crypto exchanges canceled their SpaceX IPO allocations earlier in June.Platforms including Bybit, Binance, Bitget Wallet and MEXC canceled their tokenized SpaceX IPO campaigns as SpaceX went public on the Nasdaq, with several blaming Kraken-owned xStocks’ inability to deliver the underlying assets.  Related: VARA, Securitize sign MoU for tokenization innovation in DubaiRobinhood launches tokenization initiativesRobinhood co-founder and CEO, Vlad Tenev, responded to the criticism on X by asking Aron to share his exact concerns tied to the tokenized offering. The platform did not issue a public statement.Cointelegraph has approached Robinhood for comment on the remarks and the regulatory status of its tokenized stock offerings.The first generation of Robinhood stock tokens launched in July 2026 as tokenized debt securities issued by Jersey-based Robinhood Assets as ERC-20 tokens, providing economic exposure to underlying assets such as US stocks and exchange-traded funds.In February, Robinhood launched a public testnet for Robinhood Chain, its Ethereum layer‑2 network built using Arbitrum technology to host tokenized assets.In October 2025, Robinhood shared plans to tokenize nearly 500 US stocks and ETFs on Arbitrum, as part of its push into tokenized assets.In July 2026, Bernstein analysts raised their price target on Robinhood Markets, predicting that the platform’s next phase of growth will be driven by tokenized equities and prediction markets, rather than traditional crypto trading.Magazine: How Hong Kong is turning tokenized bonds into real market infrastructure

Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) and BlackRock-backed tokenization platform Securitize signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to advance tokenization and digital asset infrastructure across the United Arab Emirates and Dubai.The MoU will establish a collaborative framework to support regulated tokenization initiatives, foster institutional participation and strengthen Dubai’s digital asset ecosystem, the companies said in a Thursday announcement shared with Cointelegraph.VARA and Securitize seek to support tokenization initiatives in Dubai, including projects initiated by VARA, to attract more talent and explore how tokenized financial products should operate under Dubai’s regulatory framework.Tokenization initiatives are also gaining traction in other financial technology-focused jurisdictions. Days earlier, the London Stock Exchange reportedly partnered with crypto exchange Kraken to launch tokenized stock trading on the operator’s night-time trading venue to offer 24/5 trading.Related: London Stock Exchange partners with Kraken parent for tokenized UK stocks: FTTokenization is evolving into “mainstream” financial infrastructure: Securitize CEODubai emerged as one of the “world’s most forward-looking jurisdictions for digital asset innovation,” said Carlos Domingo, co-founder and CEO of Securitize, emphasizing the importance of collaborating with regulators as tokenization moves from “concept to mainstream financial infrastructure.” At the beginning of July, VARA granted its 50th virtual asset service provider (VASP) license to tokenization platform Tribe Tokenisation FZE.When asked about the specific infrastructure goals, a spokesperson for VARA told Cointelegraph that the MoU’s main goal is to create a broad framework for collaboration between the two firms, rather than a specific technological stack or product. She told Cointelegraph:“The intention is to combine VARA’s regulatory perspective with Securitize’s experience in institutional tokenisation to identify where collaboration can help support the development of trusted, regulated tokenised markets in Dubai.” There won’t be any specific projects announced “at this stage” of the MoU, but the agreement will provide a collaborative framework to “support relevant tokenisation initiatives in Dubai,” added the spokesperson. Total RWA asset value, all-time chart. Source: RWA.xyz The announcement follows increasing investor demand for tokenized assets, which has seen total RWA holders rise 103% in the past 30 days to 3.2 million. The total value of tokenized assets also rose 2% to $38.5 billion in the same period, according to data provider RWA.xyz. Securitize ranks as the world’s largest tokenization platform with $4.9 billion in tokenized assets under management (AUM). Ondo Finance ranks second with $3.5 billion.Magazine: How Hong Kong is turning tokenized bonds into real market infrastructure

Student loan real-world asset (RWA) protocol Pencil Finance completed a $1 million onchain student loan cycle, offering financing to thousands of students in Southeast Asia who were underserved by traditional lenders.Pencil said it completed its first fully onchain student loan cycle on the blockchain, where the platform deployed $1 million in capital as a lender that was repaid by borrowers to the bundle’s funders with yield, the company revealed in a Thursday announcement shared with Cointelegraph.The bundle was funded in July 2025 by Animoca Brands, Open Campus and New Campus, structured as a senior tranche with fixed returns and a junior tranche with variable returns and first-loss risk.The $1 million onchain loan cycle offered financing to about 6,600 students across 118 schools and universities in Southeast Asia. Pencil Finance claims this is the first-ever fully onchain lending cycle financing student loans transparently recorded on the blockchain network.Of the 6,600 students, about 1,050 received direct funding. Pencil said the loans were designed for students underserved by traditional lenders, with 50% female borrowers and 93% stemming from lower-income households.Tokenized RWAs are increasingly being used to issue or collateralize loans. In July, Brazil’s B3 stock exchange issued a 100,000 Brazilian reais ($19,600) loan secured by 10 tokenized cows as collateral, where each cow received a unique digital token linked to an encrypted digital identity, while AI-powered smart collars from agriculture tech company Cowmed monitored each animal’s health.Related: Standard Chartered launches spot Bitcoin and Ether trading in UAECointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.

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Prediction market operator Kalshi will reportedly seek regulatory approval for a West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil perpetual futures contract that never expires.The contract could be filed with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) as soon as next week, a person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. It would trade 24 hours a day, five days a week, according to Reuters.If approved, it would be the first oil-linked perpetual futures product to trade on a regulated US platform. Cointelegraph has approached Kalshi for comment.Perpetual futures, commonly called “perps,” are derivatives without expiration dates, allowing traders to maintain positions indefinitely without rolling them into new contracts.In June, the CFTC sought public comments on extending standard futures contracts to 24/7 trading and allowing perpetual contracts linked to physically delivered or storable energy commodities, including crude oil.In July, the regulator halted the self-certified listing of a CME Group contract that would have introduced 24/7 crude oil futures trading while it examined whether the product complied with federal commodities law.On Aug. 24, Ondo Finance submitted three comment letters to the SEC and CFTC urging US regulators to bring perpetual futures tied to individual stocks onshore. Ondo argued that these products could operate under the country’s existing security futures framework without new rules.Kalshi’s push into oil derivatives comes as its prediction-market business faces a separate jurisdictional dispute over whether federal commodities law preempts state gambling enforcement against event contracts traded on CFTC-regulated exchanges.On Tuesday, a Michigan state court issued a preliminary injunction barring Kalshi from offering sports-related event contracts in the state and requiring it to maintain geofencing that blocks Michigan residents.On Wednesday, New Jersey asked the US Supreme Court to resolve the jurisdictional dispute after federal appeals courts reached conflicting decisions in cases involving New Jersey and Nevada.Related: Crypto industry urges SEC to avoid blanket novel ETF restrictionsCointelegraph is committed to independent, transparent journalism. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.