On-Chain Stock Trading, Yet Retaining Reset Rights: Robinhood's Experiment in Progress and Retreat

比推Published on 2026-02-12Last updated on 2026-02-12

Abstract

Robinhood has launched the public testnet of Robinhood Chain, an Ethereum Layer 2 built on Arbitrum Orbit, aiming to tokenize real-world assets (RWA) like stocks, ETFs, and private equities. This move follows the company’s earlier experiments in Europe, where it offered tokenized stock derivatives—not actual equity ownership—with features like 24/7 trading, instant settlement, and dividend pass-through. The chain leverages Arbitrum for EVM compatibility and Ethereum for security, while allowing Robinhood to enforce compliance controls. Despite its vision for global accessibility and DeFi composability, challenges remain: the assets are legally structured as derivatives, Robinhood Europe acts as the sole counterparty, and the platform retains centralized control, including the ability to reset or restrict wallet access. The initiative represents Robinhood’s broader push to bridge traditional finance and crypto, though its success depends on navigating regulatory and operational hurdles.

Author: KarenZ, Foresight News

Original Title: Robinhood Ventures into L2, Focusing on RWA Tokenization

At the end of January 2026, Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev revisited the "GameStop short squeeze" that shocked Wall Street five years ago on social media, stating bluntly: if blockchain technology's real-time settlement capability had been available at that time, the "pulling the plug" moment that angered countless retail investors could have been avoided.

Just two weeks later, Robinhood officially announced the launch of the Robinhood Chain public testnet based on Arbitrum, which will support tokenized real-world assets, including stocks, ETFs, private assets, and other financial instruments.

Architectural Choice: Why Arbitrum?

In terms of architectural choice, Robinhood chose to build the Ethereum Layer 2 network Robinhood Chain based on Arbitrum Orbit, using Ethereum Blobs to ensure data availability and ETH as the native Gas token.

Robinhood is well aware that it doesn't need to reinvent the wheel. Arbitrum provides EVM compatibility, allowing existing DeFi protocols and wallet infrastructure to migrate at near-zero cost. More importantly, Arbitrum Orbit allows Robinhood to build a "dedicated chain" that has both independent governance and custom logic (such as compliance review) while sharing the unbreakable security consensus of the Ethereum mainnet.

This is crucial for Robinhood, which needs to meet financial regulatory requirements. It can implement compliance rules on-chain, restrict access permissions for specific wallet addresses, all without leaving Ethereum, the largest pool of capital.

More critically, as early as mid-2025, Robinhood had already been trialing its tokenized stock business on Arbitrum. Launching its own chain on Arbitrum now is a natural progression.

Robinhood's Tokenized Stock Pilot

Prior to the Robinhood Chain testnet launch, Robinhood had been conducting an 8-month "tokenized stock" experiment in the European market.

At the Consensus 2026 conference, Robinhood Crypto General Manager Johann Kerbrat stated that Robinhood had launched about 2,000 tokenized stock and ETF products in the European market, covering mainstream U.S. stocks and ETF products. Future plans include tokenizing private equity, real estate, and artwork to enable 7*24 hour trading and instant settlement.

According to Dune data, as of February 9th, the total value of Robinhood's tokenized stocks is currently $15.1 million, with a cumulative trading volume of $74.43 million. Of course, this scale appears relatively small.

Operational Truth: How Does Robinhood's Tokenized Stock "Put" U.S. Stocks On-Chain?

Underlying Architecture: These tokenized stocks were initially issued on Arbitrum and will be fully migrated to Robinhood Chain in the future.
Essential Nature: These tokenized stocks are not actual ownership certificates but rather derivative contracts pegged to the price of the underlying stock or ETP. This means the tokens held by users track the performance of the U.S. stock, but the users do not have ownership of the corresponding shares.
Issuance and Destruction Mechanism: When a user buys a stock derivative contract on Robinhood, the platform immediately generates a corresponding fungible token on the blockchain. This token represents ownership of this contract, but this token cannot be transferred to others. Once the user closes this contract position, the platform will directly burn the corresponding token on the blockchain. The blockchain is updated immediately, and the token becomes completely invalid.
Dividend Pass-Through: Although users do not own the stock, Robinhood achieves dividend pass-through. When the underlying stock pays a dividend, the system automatically distributes the dividend in cash to the investor's account.
Compliance Armor: Robinhood's ability to legally launch tokenized stocks in Europe is thanks to its thorough regulatory preparation:
In June 2025, Robinhood acquired Bitstamp for $200 million in cash. The core value of this acquisition lies in Bitstamp's Slovenian MiFID Multilateral Trading Facility (MTF) license.
In mid-2025, Robinhood obtained the EU MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation) license and a Lithuanian MiFID brokerage license.

Because of this, Robinhood's tokenized stocks are custodied by Bitstamp.

In terms of trading门槛 and fees, the barrier to entry for such tokenized stocks is extremely low, starting from just 1 euro; trading hours cover 5*24 (weekdays 24/5). Users can place advance orders during non-trading hours, which are automatically executed when the market opens. Regarding fees, Robinhood implements a policy of zero trading commissions and zero spreads, charging only a 0.1% foreign exchange fee during transactions, minimizing user trading costs.

The "Second Half" of Financial Democratization

If Robinhood's first half was famous for "zero commission," then the second half is about "eliminating the barriers of time and space."

The core narrative of Robinhood Chain lies in the comprehensive on-chain representation of RWA (Real World Assets). Its significance is reflected in three dimensions:

24/7 Market: Robinhood Chain brings U.S. stocks into Crypto's time dimension, allowing capital flow to no longer be restricted by Wall Street's schedule.
Instant Settlement: Faster trade confirmation speeds.
Asset Composability: This is the biggest area of imagination. Imagine, in the future, you could not only hold Tesla stock but also deposit it into Aave or Compound protocols as collateral to borrow USDC to buy coffee. The properties of assets are彻底释放 (thoroughly released). Of course, at this stage, stock tokens on Robinhood cannot be transferred to other digital wallets or trading platforms.
Permissionless: Robinhood Chain is designed to be permissionless and developer-friendly. Anyone can interact with the network, build applications, and deploy smart contracts.
Erosion of Global Investment Barriers: An investor in Southeast Asia can participate in the growth红利 (dividends) of top global companies through Robinhood Chain with extremely low friction costs.

Unavoidable Challenges and Variables

However, the voyage to the new world still faces several "high walls":

Legal Ambiguity of Asset Definition: It currently exists in the form of "derivatives" rather than direct tokenization of the underlying securities, leaving a layer of legal opacity.
Single Counterparty is Robinhood Europe: Robinhood Europe is the sole counterparty for this financial derivative, and counterparty concentration could pose potential liquidity and credit risks. However, Robinhood's official documents indicate that Robinhood will hedge the risk of its issued U.S. stock derivatives by purchasing U.S. stocks or ETFs on a 1:1 basis.
Ecosystem Closedness: Robinhood Chain currently exhibits strong centralized control attributes. Its terms of service clearly state that the platform can随时重置 (reset at any time), restrict, or revoke access permissions for specific wallets. While this design is necessary to meet compliance requirements, it also conflicts with the core spirit of Web3 decentralization, drawing it into the controversy of "imbalance between compliance and decentralization." However, decentralization and compliance are somewhat conflicting, which is understandable. Over the past few months, Robinhood's open-minded approach to tokenized stocks has also been continuously expanding.
Resistance from Third-Party Companies: OpenAI previously publicly stated that it "does not recognize" the legality of certain tokenized equities. This exposes the core矛盾 (contradiction) of RWA: the recognition of rights between third-party companies and the asset tokenizer (Robinhood).

Summary

The launch of the Robinhood Chain testnet did not trigger狂欢 (jubilation) in the Crypto industry, but this might also be a revolution of "still waters run deep."

When a giant like Robinhood, deeply entrenched in traditional retail finance, begins to seriously布局 (layout) blockchain and promote the on-chain representation and trading of real-world assets, the clear boundary between traditional finance and crypto finance is gradually being blurred and dissolved.

Whether Robinhood Chain will become a super gateway connecting traditional finance and Web3, or fall into a closed "island" due to excessive focus on compliance, still requires time to tell.

Twitter:https://twitter.com/BitpushNewsCN

Bitpush TG Discussion Group:https://t.me/BitPushCommunity

Bitpush TG Subscription: https://t.me/bitpush

Original article link:https://www.bitpush.news/articles/7611482

Send a Message to Transfer Coins? Telegram to 'Stuff' a Crypto Wallet into 1 Billion Users This Summer

Telegram founder Pavel Durov has announced that a native, non-custodial wallet called Gram wallet will be built into every Telegram app this summer. This move aims to provide instant, fee-free cryptocurrency transfers for the platform's over 1 billion monthly active users. Durov described it as the largest deployment of a non-custodial crypto wallet in history. The new wallet, developed by Telegram itself, differs fundamentally from the existing third-party @wallet bot. It will be non-custodial from the start, meaning users will control their private keys. Following the announcement, the GRAM token (formerly Toncoin) saw a price increase of approximately 8%. This initiative is part of Telegram's renewed control over the TON blockchain and its "Make TON Great Again" roadmap, marking a return to the project after a 2018 SEC lawsuit. The launch comes as other super-apps like X Money and Meta are also expanding into digital payments, with Telegram opting for a crypto-native approach. However, key details remain unclear, including the exact launch date beyond "this summer," how the promised zero fees will be implemented technically, and how asset support and private key management will work for mainstream users.

marsbit2m ago

Send a Message to Transfer Coins? Telegram to 'Stuff' a Crypto Wallet into 1 Billion Users This Summer

marsbit2m ago

Hyperliquid’s HIP-4 proposal fuels HYPE staking as long-term conviction grows

Hyperliquid has proposed the HIP-4 upgrade to expand from perpetual futures into a broader, permissionless infrastructure layer for on-chain applications, requiring deployers to stake 500,000 HYPE to launch new markets. This shift aims to enable developers to build on its platform, a strategy backed by growing long-term investor conviction. Evidence includes a major trader staking millions in HYPE instead of taking profits, with total staked tokens reaching 43.9% of the supply, reducing available tokens and strengthening network security. Market metrics like high open interest and balanced funding rates suggest measured, non-speculative trader positioning. Sustained growth in protocol revenue, TVL, and governance participation further supports the positive outlook, contingent on continued user adoption and successful upgrade execution.

ambcrypto4m ago

Hyperliquid’s HIP-4 proposal fuels HYPE staking as long-term conviction grows

ambcrypto4m ago

7 Months After the Collapse of Huiwang, Southeast Asia's Escrow Platforms Undergo a Major Reshuffle

Following the collapse of Huione Pay—dubbed the "Alipay of Southeast Asia"—seven months ago, the region's underground financial guarantee platform sector is undergoing a significant reshuffle. This power vacuum has been swiftly filled by emerging platforms such as XinBi, Tiger/Navigator, JinBei (renamed JinBo), Dali/Tiancheng, and FullyLight. These platforms, operating largely via Telegram and offering services like escrow for illicit transactions, have absorbed the vast user base and markets left behind by Huione. While positioning themselves as "trust intermediaries," their primary clientele consists of networks involved in online scams, money laundering, illegal gambling, and even human trafficking. For instance, the Tiger/Navigator platform explicitly provides "escrow" services for kidnapping-for-ransom operations ("强押车交易"). Data underscores the immense scale: Huione alone processed over $103 billion in cryptocurrency payments and facilitated over $31 billion through its escrow market before its downfall, linking it to Cambodia's notorious Prince Group. Since its collapse, competitors have seen explosive growth. For example, the XinBi platform has accumulated over $1.6 billion in total USDT revenue, while platforms like NewPay, OkPay (under Dali), and FullyLight Wallet collectively processed over $4.8 billion in USDT in a single year. This ecosystem thrives in regions like Cambodia and Myanmar, where regulatory gaps allow these platforms to act as critical financial infrastructure for sprawling cybercrime industries, from scam compounds to online casinos. The article concludes that the moniker "Southeast Asian Alipay" is a misnomer, obscuring the platforms' fundamental role in enabling serious criminal enterprises rather than representing legitimate financial innovation.

Odaily星球日报17m ago

7 Months After the Collapse of Huiwang, Southeast Asia's Escrow Platforms Undergo a Major Reshuffle

Odaily星球日报17m ago

The Changing Landscape: What Are Crypto VCs Experiencing?

Title: The Shifting Landscape of Crypto Venture Capital The era of dedicated crypto venture capital funds is undergoing a significant transformation. Once essential for navigating the sector's complexity and high risk, these specialized funds are now facing an identity crisis as the market matures. This shift mirrors historical patterns in other specialized investment classes like cleantech and SPACs, where initial information advantages dissipate as technologies become mainstream and integrated into existing industry frameworks. The article argues that crypto is reaching a critical inflection point, transitioning from a "building phase" to an "integration phase." Major players like Stripe, BlackRock, and Visa now engage with crypto not for its novel mechanics but as a foundational financial infrastructure. Their needs—regulatory compliance, banking partnerships, distribution channels—align with traditional fintech, a domain easily understood by large, generalist funds like Sequoia and Founders Fund. This evolution creates a "barbell effect" within the VC landscape. On one end are massive, diversified platforms that can incorporate crypto as one vertical among many. On the other are small, nimble funds focused on niche, experimental projects. The middle ground—medium-sized dedicated crypto funds—is being squeezed out. Their typical fund size makes it impossible to generate sufficient returns solely from early-stage crypto bets, yet they cannot compete with giants for later-stage deals. Consequently, leading crypto-native firms like Paradigm and Framework Ventures are expanding into AI, robotics, and other sectors, driven partly by LP pressure for better returns amid a broader VC DPI crisis. Others, like Dragonfly and a16z, have narrowed their crypto focus predominantly to financial infrastructure like stablecoins, reframing the sector's core narrative. For crypto entrepreneurs, this consolidation presents challenges. While generalist funds offer larger checks and broader resources, crypto projects now compete fiercely with AI for attention and capital within these firms. Furthermore, the long-term, non-commercial foundational work that built the ecosystem—funded by dedicated crypto VCs—is less likely to attract generalist capital focused on direct returns. The conclusion is that "crypto investor" as a standalone category is becoming obsolete, akin to "internet investor." Crypto is becoming a baseline infrastructure layer. The future will see a barbell structure: large-scale growth financing handled by generalist funds, while pioneering, speculative projects are funded by small, specialized vehicles. The dedicated crypto funds of the 2017-2021 boom, which incubated core infrastructure, are giving way to this new, bifurcated reality.

Foresight News35m ago

The Changing Landscape: What Are Crypto VCs Experiencing?

Foresight News35m ago

As Consensus Accelerates, What Are Young Investors Betting On?

Title: As Consensus Forms Faster, What Are Young Investors Betting On? In the rapid evolution of tech investment, a new generation of young investors is navigating a landscape where AI, robotics, commercial aerospace, and quantum computing are advancing simultaneously. Traditional investment logic based on financial models is giving way to a need for deep technical understanding and the ability to act before industry consensus forms. An analysis of trends from the "WAIC FUTURE TECH" list of young investment leaders reveals key shifts in focus. The first major trend is the movement of AI from the digital screen into the physical world. Investment is shifting from large language models and chatbots towards embodied AI, robotics, AI hardware, and edge computing. While demonstrations generate excitement, the real challenge lies in achieving scalable, reliable, and cost-effective delivery in complex real-world environments like factories and logistics. Success depends not just on algorithms but on the integration of sensors, actuators, and control systems. Second, the competitive focus for large models is moving beyond raw capability toward building an "intelligence flywheel." The goal is to create self-reinforcing systems where user interaction generates data, improving the model, which in turn enhances the user experience and attracts more engagement. Companies that successfully embed AI into workflows to create these closed-loop systems can build lasting value that isn't easily erased by the next model upgrade. Third, facing a potential bottleneck in high-quality human-generated data, investors are looking at new underlying technologies. Reinforcement learning and self-play, as demonstrated by AlphaGo Zero, offer paths for AI to generate its own experience. Scientific foundation models, which aim to build general AI capabilities for fields like life sciences and materials discovery, represent a non-consensus direction that could unlock new frontiers of knowledge and data. Finally, in deep-tech areas like quantum computing, commercial aerospace, and space-based infrastructure, patient capital is essential. These fields have long, uncertain development and validation cycles involving complex engineering, supply chains, and regulations. Investment here requires a long-term view, focusing on foundational team capabilities and the eventual emergence of market demand, even if commercial returns are distant. Collectively, these trends illustrate how young investors are adapting to a new era. They are learning to make earlier, technically-informed judgments, balance hype with real-world viability, and provide the patient capital needed to build the deep-tech foundations of the future.

marsbit1h ago

As Consensus Accelerates, What Are Young Investors Betting On?