Robinhood Bets on Tokenized Stocks and Real-World Assets, Launches Its Own Layer-2 Blockchain

Robinhood Markets has launched Robinhood Chain, an Ethereum-based Layer 2 network built on Arbitrum’s Orbit technology, to facilitate the tokenization of real-world financial instruments. This strategic pivot aims to move the platform beyond speculative crypto assets toward productive, utility-driven financial products like tokenized U.S. equities. The new infrastructure, supported by Chainlink for data oracles and BitGo for custody, allows users in over 120 countries to trade tokenized stocks such as NVDA and GOOG 24/7. These Stock Tokens provide economic exposure to underlying shares and can be utilized within decentralized finance protocols for lending or collateral. Additionally, Robinhood is expanding into perpetual futures for commodities and ETFs, alongside AI-driven trading tools and stablecoin yield products. By leveraging its 28 million user base, the company seeks to bridge traditional brokerage services with onchain efficiency. This development marks a significant institutional entry into the tokenized equity market, which reached a $5.5 billion capitalization by June 2026.