Robinhood launched its Robinhood Chain mainnet and introduced new Stock Tokens at the 'The World is Flat' event held in London on the 1st. The company announced multiple service expansions including support for Stock Tokens in over 120 countries, a lending product offering approximately 7% APY for US investors, and regulatory approvals in Singapore and Canada. Robinhood developed the Ethereum Layer 2 network using Arbitrum's technology stack to create on-chain financial infrastructure for tokenized stocks, ETFs, real-world assets, DeFi, and AI agent-based financial applications within its ecosystem.
Robinhood Announces Robinhood Chain Mainnet and Service Expansions
Robinhood announced the official launch of Robinhood Chain mainnet at the London event. The network uses Arbitrum's technology stack and focuses on real-world assets (RWA). From the first day of launch, the platform onboarded major decentralized applications including Uniswap, LayerZero, Morpho, 1inch, and dYdX.
The company introduced new Stock Tokens available in over 120 countries, accessible through Robinhood Wallet and Robinhood Chain. Robinhood launched Robinhood Earn, a lending product offering approximately 7% APY for US investors, operating on Morpho built on Robinhood Chain. The product is protected by insurance through Lloyd's of London and RELM.
Robinhood integrated Lighter, allowing users in eligible jurisdictions to access perpetual futures functionality within Robinhood Wallet. The company expanded perpetual futures trading in the EU region to include traditional financial assets such as gold, silver, stocks, and crude oil beyond crypto futures. Robinhood introduced a maker/taker fee structure favorable to professional traders in the US based on trading volume.
The company launched crypto trading services in Canada following its acquisition of Wonderfi. Robinhood Singapore announced it received a capital markets services license from MAS, establishing a foundation to provide brokerage services to Singapore customers. Robinhood plans to expand crypto trading services in the UK, where it currently operates a stock investment platform. The company announced plans to extend agentic trading technology, previously launched for stocks and options in the US, to crypto.
Robinhood Chain Documentation Highlights Stock Token Infrastructure
Robinhood Chain's documentation includes a dedicated Stock Tokens section and displays Stock Token contract addresses on the page showing major token contracts. According to rwa.xyz, 1,888 types of Stock Tokens with a total value of $19.4 million currently exist on the Arbitrum network.
The new Stock Tokens announced on the 1st differ completely from the existing service despite sharing the same vision. The previous Stock Token service available in the EU was renamed Classic Stock Tokens in the terms of service, while the newly announced service adopted the Stock Tokens name.
Classic Stock Tokens Operated as Derivatives on Arbitrum
Classic Stock Tokens launched on June 30, 2025, as a service provided by Robinhood Europe to EU users. The tokenization process operates as follows: investors purchase Stock Tokens through the Robinhood EU app, which constitutes a financial derivatives contract between the investor and Robinhood EU under EU MiFID II classification. The token serves as a representation of rights and ledger record for this contract. Robinhood EU simultaneously purchases the underlying asset through a US broker to hedge against price fluctuation risk.
Classic Stock Tokens represent a derivatives contract between the investor and Robinhood EU rather than tokenized stocks, with tokenization serving as a supplementary device for rights representation and ledger recording on the Arbitrum network. Investors holding Classic Stock Tokens do not possess stock ownership and have no voting rights or claim rights. The legal binding originates from the derivatives contract between the customer and Robinhood EU, not from the token. Investors' rights are limited to the difference between the derivatives contract purchase price and the underlying asset price at liquidation, plus any dividends generated.
Robinhood Europe UAB, a Lithuanian entity, serves as the derivatives contract counterparty and token issuer. The company operates as a financial brokerage firm, virtual asset service provider, and payment institution licensed and supervised by the Lithuanian central bank. Robinhood EU sources stocks through Alpaca Securities, a US-based broker, and stores them with a US custody institution.
This structure makes Classic Stock Tokens a partial tokenization. The core remains the derivatives contract between EU investors and Robinhood, with tokens serving only as ledger records without legal binding force. Classic Stock Tokens cannot circulate freely on-chain and are available only to European customers, tradable exclusively within the Robinhood app.
New Stock Tokens Function as Debt Securities Under Multi-Jurisdiction Framework
The Stock Tokens launched on the 1st differ completely from Classic Stock Tokens in tokenization structure and utilization. These tokens are accessible to customers in over 120 countries, tradable 24/7 on the Robinhood Chain ecosystem beyond the Robinhood app, and usable in DeFi protocols such as Uniswap and Morpho.
The primary tokenization process operates as follows: Bitstamp Global participates as an Authorized Participant (AP) in the primary issuance and redemption of tokenized stocks. When an AP wants to issue Stock Tokens, it transfers funds to Robinhood Asset, a Jersey-based entity. Robinhood Asset secures stocks from Alpaca Securities, a US broker and custodian, and stores them in custody. Simultaneously, Robinhood Asset issues tokens representing the stocks and delivers them to the AP, which then trades them in the secondary market.
New Stock Tokens share the same 1:1 collateralization with underlying stocks as Classic Stock Tokens, but differ in contract form and tokenization structure. Classic Stock Tokens represent derivatives contracts between investors and Robinhood, while Stock Tokens represent debt securities between investors and Robinhood.
The regulatory framework for Stock Tokens tokenizing stocks consists of four components. Robinhood Asset, the debt securities issuer and tokenization executor, follows Jersey regulations. The company received partial consent from Jersey financial authorities regarding Stock Token issuance. Stock Tokens are debt securities, not actual stocks, providing only economic exposure to underlying stocks/ETFs without other rights. The company received Base Prospectus approval from Liechtenstein FMA, creating regulatory conditions to sell these securities in EU/EEA regions.
The structure follows Regulation S to create an offshore securities offering structure avoiding US securities law registration. Stock Tokens cannot be offered or sold within the US or to US persons and are provided offshore. Stock Tokens follow Swiss DLT law, which grants token holders the right to claim under debt securities.
Stock Token Service Excludes US Investors and Voting Rights
Stock Tokens remain unavailable to US investors. Classic Stock Token holders possess only economic exposure without voting rights or claim rights. Liquidity fragmentation may occur. Platforms tokenizing stocks in similar ways to Stock Tokens include Backed Finance (xStocks) and Ondo Global Markets. Identical stocks tokenized by different platforms are not compatible, resulting in liquidity fragmentation.
Issuer-sponsored tokenization resolves this issue. This method involves the issuing company or transfer agent directly tokenizing stocks, complying with existing securities laws, serving US persons, tokenizing all stock rights, and using the same CUSIP as existing stocks to prevent liquidity fragmentation. Securitize represents a prominent example. This method faces constraints on permissionless on-chain trading or utilization in DeFi protocols due to regulatory compliance requirements.
All financial platforms share the same north star: creating a platform where anyone can trade all types of assets—crypto, stocks, commodities, bonds—anytime, anywhere. Coinbase, which started with crypto exchanges, and Robinhood, which began with stock trading, both advance toward this north star. Robinhood's newly announced Stock Tokens represent an upgrade from the previously serviced Classic Stock Tokens. Stocks previously tradable only within the app can now be freely utilized in the DeFi ecosystem on Robinhood Chain.
This method remains transitional. The stocks themselves are not tokenized; rather, a third party indirectly tokenizes stocks in the form of debt securities. The SEC is preparing exemption provisions related to stock tokenization, and Coinbase has previewed tokenized stock services. All platforms advance toward the north star in their own ways within the level permitted by current regulations. Robinhood and Coinbase lead this movement.
FAQ
What did Robinhood announce at the London event on the 1st?
Robinhood announced the official launch of Robinhood Chain mainnet using Arbitrum's technology stack and introduced new Stock Tokens available in over 120 countries. The company also launched Robinhood Earn offering approximately 7% APY for US investors, expanded services to Canada and Singapore, and onboarded major DeFi protocols including Uniswap, LayerZero, Morpho, 1inch, and dYdX from the first day.
How do the new Stock Tokens differ from Classic Stock Tokens?
Classic Stock Tokens, launched on June 30, 2025, represent derivatives contracts between investors and Robinhood EU, with tokens serving as ledger records on Arbitrum without legal binding force. The new Stock Tokens function as debt securities issued by Robinhood Asset (Jersey entity), are accessible in over 120 countries, tradable 24/7 on Robinhood Chain, and usable in DeFi protocols. Classic Stock Tokens are available only to EU customers and tradable exclusively within the Robinhood app.
What regulatory frameworks govern the new Stock Tokens?
The new Stock Tokens follow four regulatory frameworks: Jersey regulations for Robinhood Asset as the issuer, Liechtenstein FMA approval of the Base Prospectus for EU/EEA sales, Regulation S for offshore securities offering to exclude US persons, and Swiss DLT law granting token holders rights under debt securities. According to rwa.xyz, 1,888 types of Stock Tokens with $19.4 million total value currently exist on the Arbitrum network.
