On June 30, 2025, in Cannes, France, Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev announced a series of groundbreaking initiatives during the “To Catch a Token” event. The announcements included the launch of Robinhood Chain, built on Arbitrum, tokenized U.S. stock trading, perpetual futures, ETH/SOL staking, private equity token subscriptions, and the Rabbit Gold Card, which converts offline cashback rewards into crypto assets. Following the announcement, Robinhood’s stock price surged nearly 10%, pushing its market capitalization above $76 billion.

Robinhood’s strategic shift from a zero-commission brokerage to a blockchain-based financial ecosystem marks a significant evolution. The company aims to establish a new financial order with 24/7 on-chain trading and asset issuance, leveraging the growing global trend of asset tokenization and relaxed U.S. crypto regulations under the Trump administration.

The event highlighted Robinhood’s three-pronged approach: tokenized stocks, perpetual contracts, and an all-in-one investment app. Over 200 U.S. stocks and ETFs have already been tokenized on Arbitrum Layer 2, with plans to expand to thousands by year-end. The company also introduced staking services for ETH and SOL in the U.S., alongside an AI investment assistant, Cortex, for premium users.

Robinhood Chain, a Layer 2 solution, is central to this strategy, designed to support real-world assets (RWA) with a phased rollout. The company’s acquisition of Bitstamp in 2024 bolstered its global regulatory compliance and institutional liquidity, positioning Robinhood as a key player in the tokenized asset space.

However, challenges remain, including regulatory uncertainties in the U.S. and Europe, and competition from rivals like Coinbase and Kraken. Despite these hurdles, Robinhood’s strong compliance framework, institutional partnerships, and large user base provide a solid foundation for its ambitious vision of democratizing access to blockchain-based financial services.