The announcement by 'Robinhood' about the possibility of trading digital tokens representing shares of private companies such as 'OpenAI' and 'SpaceX' sparked widespread controversy, especially after it became clear that these digital tokens do not grant any actual ownership rights.
'David Schwartz', the CTO of Ripple, commented that the only legal protection available to users in the event of the company's failure is simply: resorting to the courts.
As part of a recent promotional campaign, 'Robinhood' unveiled a range of new products, including an expansion of cryptocurrency offerings, an upgraded digital payment card, and a tokenized trading service for public and private stocks available around the clock.
The company promises that the digital tokens will reflect market events such as dividend distributions and stock splits for traditional U.S. stocks.
However, the situation is different for private companies, as the tokens associated with them are not real shares, but rather represent investment instruments that mimic stock behavior without granting ownership or voting rights.
These digital tokens are built on the 'Arbitrum' network with a second-layer development by 'Robinhood', and are based solely on the promise of simulating the investment experience.
'Schwartz' explained via platform X that these digital tokens lack any tangible legal support, and that users do not have any real guarantees, except for the ability to sue the company if it fails to meet its obligations, which is a legal recourse that may be insufficient if 'Robinhood' loses its ability to fulfill.
Despite these reservations, 'Robinhood' indicates that it has received increasing interest from private companies willing to present their shares in a tokenized form.
This model provides individual investors with a way to access the private market that was previously reserved for accredited investors.
However, the absence of transparent pricing and clear rules for profit distributions raises serious questions about the transparency of this system and its actual value to investors.
