Arcus, a decentralized exchange built by the dYdX team and backed by Robinhood Crypto, launched tokenized stocks and perpetual futures on Robinhood Chain on Tuesday. The expansion addresses growing competition among platforms to build onchain infrastructure for traditional financial assets. Regulatory questions around access and product structure remain a key challenge for the tokenized real-world asset sector.
Arcus Launches Self-Custodial Trading with 95+ Tokenized Assets
Arcus offers more than 95 stock tokens, perpetual markets, and crypto assets through a self-custodial trading account. The Paxos-issued stablecoin USDG serves as the platform's primary collateral and settlement asset. Tokenized versions of stocks include Nvidia, Tesla, Apple, Microsoft, Meta, Google, and Amazon. Perpetual markets are tied to equities, exchange-traded funds, commodities, indexes, and crypto assets.
The platform uses a self-custodial model, allowing users to retain control of their assets rather than deposit them with a centralized exchange. Arcus uses Privy, a wallet infrastructure company that helps applications create and manage crypto wallets. Users can sign up through email or social logins. Users who already hold crypto can connect existing self-custodial wallets, including MetaMask, Ledger, and WalletConnect. The company cited support for additional Ethereum-compatible wallets.
Arcus previously launched spot markets when Robinhood Chain went live on July 1.
Platform Restricts Access in US, Canada, and UK Due to Regulatory Compliance
Arcus said its stock tokens are unavailable in the US, Canada, the UK, and other restricted jurisdictions. The restrictions highlight different regulatory approaches to tokenized securities across markets. Regulators in markets including the US and UK have been examining how blockchain-based representations of traditional assets fit within existing financial frameworks. Questions around custody, ownership, and market structure are being addressed.
Cointelegraph contacted Arcus for clarification on the restrictions but did not receive a response by publication time.
Tokenized Asset Infrastructure Sees Growing Competition from Base and Coinbase
The launch adds another player to the growing race to build infrastructure for tokenized assets. Platforms including Coinbase-backed Base are exploring ways to bring traditional financial products onchain.
FAQ
What did Arcus launch on Robinhood Chain on Tuesday?
Arcus launched tokenized stocks and perpetual futures on Robinhood Chain on Tuesday. The platform offers more than 95 stock tokens, perpetual markets, and crypto assets through a self-custodial trading account, with USDG stablecoin as primary collateral.
Why are Arcus stock tokens unavailable in the US, Canada, and UK?
Arcus said its stock tokens are unavailable in the US, Canada, the UK, and other restricted jurisdictions due to different regulatory approaches to tokenized securities. Regulators in these markets are examining how blockchain-based representations of traditional assets fit within existing financial frameworks.
How does Arcus's self-custodial model work?
Arcus uses a self-custodial model that allows users to retain control of their assets rather than deposit them with a centralized exchange. The platform uses Privy wallet infrastructure, enabling users to sign up through email or social logins, or connect existing wallets like MetaMask, Ledger, and WalletConnect.
