After Tokenized Stocks Get Approved: Robinhood, Circle, and the Next Stage of Onchain Finance

On September 17, 2026, the U.S. SEC approved an 'Innovation Exemption' allowing for the onchain trading of traditional U.S. stocks under a five-year trial period. This regulatory milestone signals a broader shift toward 'Onchain Finance,' a framework that leverages blockchain to enhance the efficiency, settlement speed, and global accessibility of traditional financial assets. While often conflated with RWA, Onchain Finance represents a strategic evolution aimed at reinforcing U.S. dollar hegemony by facilitating the global distribution of dollar-denominated assets. Industry data shows the total value of stock tokens reached $2.82 billion by mid-September 2026, with significant market concentration among issuers like Ondo, bStocks, and Securitize. Robinhood has emerged as a key player, transitioning its stock tokens to the proprietary Robinhood Chain, which utilizes the ERC-8056 standard to enable interoperability with third-party DeFi protocols. With Robinhood Chain recording 100 million transactions and $957 million in TVL shortly after launch, the focus of the sector is shifting from simple token issuance to post-launch utility and integration. This transition reflects a coordinated effort by digital-native firms and traditional institutions to migrate core financial infrastructure onto public blockchains.