dYdX Changes Tack and Starts Anew, This Time Partnering with Robinhood: Will It Succeed?

Foresight NewsPublished on 2026-07-02Last updated on 2026-07-02

Abstract

On July 1st, dYdX Labs, in partnership with Robinhood Crypto, launched the Beta version of Arcus, a new decentralized exchange (DEX). Deployed on the newly launched Robinhood Chain (an L2 built on Arbitrum), Arcus supports spot trading for 95 tokenized stocks and plans to introduce cross-asset perpetual contracts. This marks a separate, new product line for the dYdX team, distinct from the existing dYdX Chain. Arcus's core features promise 24/7 trading, self-custody, and institutional-grade liquidity. Initial offerings include zero-fee web-based spot trading and a perpetual contracts testnet. Future plans involve using tokenized stocks as collateral and providing access to Pre-IPO investments. The platform is not available to users in the US, Canada, the UK, and other restricted jurisdictions. This move follows dYdX's v4 upgrade, which, while achieving full decentralization, faced criticism over performance and tokenomics, leading to a loss of market share. Arcus represents a strategic pivot, leveraging Robinhood's vast user base to target the RWA (Real World Assets) sector and global 24/7 trading. The dYdX Foundation clarified that Arcus is a parallel product incubated by dYdX Labs, and the original dYdX Chain continues to operate independently. While no official token plans have been announced, market participants speculate about potential new tokens or airdrops from the Arcus project.

Author: Mahe, Foresight News

On July 1st, Arcus, a DEX jointly created by dYdX Labs and Robinhood Crypto, officially launched its Beta version. The platform, deployed on Robinhood Chain, supports spot trading of 95 tokenized stocks and plans to launch cross-asset perpetual contracts. Arcus is not an iterative product of dYdX Chain, but rather a brand new product line from the dYdX team. Concurrently, Robinhood Chain, an L2 built on the Arbitrum technology stack, has officially launched its public mainnet.

Its DYDX token surged from $0.15 to $0.24 before the announcement, but after the announcement landed, it had dropped to $0.13 this morning, erasing all gains. Its current market cap is $115 million, with an FDV of $136 million.

Future Functionality: Using Tokenized Stocks as Collateral, Access to Pre-IPOs

According to the dYdX website, Arcus is strategically driven by dYdX founder Antonio Juliano as a board member, with Eddie Zhang serving as CEO and Founder. Eddie Zhang is the President of dYdX and was previously the Co-founder and CEO of Pocket Protector.

Arcus's core selling point is a 24/7, round-the-clock trading environment free from market hour restrictions, combined with self-custody, institutional-grade liquidity, and high-performance execution. Currently launched features include:

Perpetual Contracts: Already on testnet, targeting whales, market makers, and professional traders. Public testing will follow later.
Spot Trading: 95 Stock Token markets are open, with no waiting for listings. Covers 80+ US and international large/mid/small-cap stock tickers, indices (e.g., SPY, QQQ), commodities (from precious metals to energy markets), and crypto assets (BTC, ETH, SOL, etc.). Web platform spot trading fees are 0%, with no commission.
Liquidity & Execution: Deep liquidity provided by institutional market makers, supports API trading (order management, account data, market data).
Funding & Access: Supports instant deposits with cash or cryptocurrency, with future support for Apple Pay, Google Pay, etc. iOS App coming soon. The platform emphasizes permissionless, unrestricted access but explicitly states it is not available to users in the US, Canada, the UK, or restricted jurisdictions.

Features to be launched later or in Beta:

Pre-IPO Access Channel: Gain early investment access to hot pre-IPO companies like OpenAI before they go public.
Tokenized Stocks as Collateral: In the future, users will be able to use their tokenized stock holdings as collateral for perpetual trading, enabling cross-asset strategies (e.g., long Apple while shorting Oil).

A Fresh Start After Being Marginalized?

Since its launch in 2018, dYdX has been a pioneer among Perp DEXs, with cumulative trading volume exceeding $1 trillion. However, the v4 version, while achieving full decentralization, made compromises in performance and user experience. Coupled with heavily criticized tokenomics, this led to its rapid marginalization.

Arcus leverages Robinhood Chain's nearly 28 million customers (across 38 countries and three continents) to provide a retail-level traffic entry point. Robinhood Wallet users in 120+ countries/regions can access Stock Tokens and trade spot via DEXs like Arcus. Furthermore, the application explicitly prioritizes access for dYdX traders, stakers, validators, and participants into the Arcus ecosystem.

Arcus is designed as a community-owned protocol, combining dYdX's DeFi innovation experience with Robinhood's expertise in building financial products.

Simply put, the dYdX team hasn't abandoned its original chain but is seeking a breakthrough in the RWA sector and the 24/7 global trading scene through this new project. Traditional financial markets are limited by opening hours and geography. By putting assets like stocks, indices, and commodities on-chain, Arcus enables round-the-clock trading, unlocks productivity (lending, collateralization), and DeFi integration.

The launch of Arcus does not affect the independent operation of dYdX Chain. dYdX v4 remains a community-owned, fully open-source protocol, with user funds and positions fully accessible on dYdX Chain.

The dYdX Foundation has confirmed ongoing support for the chain. Arcus is more like a "parallel product" incubated by dYdX Labs, driven by the original core team but positioned to focus on the exchange itself rather than full ecosystem governance.

Currently, Arcus's official website and channels have not announced any specific token plans or timelines. However, given dYdX's history of notable airdrops, market participants generally have expectations for a potential new token or airdrop from Arcus.

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