Robinhood CEO Calls Tokenization the Biggest Innovation in Finance

Robinhood CEO Vladimir Tenev recently joined The Pulse on Bloomberg, where he shared why he believes tokenization could improve financial markets. 

In a conversation with host Francine Lacqua, Tenev explained how Robinhood is using blockchain technology to give everyday investors access to assets once limited to institutions and wealthy individuals.

How Tokenization Works with Robinhood 

Tenev discussed how Robinhood’s tokenization system works. Specifically, when a customer buys a tokenized asset, Robinhood either holds the real asset or works with a licensed U.S. broker that does. Their system then creates blockchain-based tokens that represent the asset. However, when customers sell, Robinhood burns those tokens. 

According to him, the process is slightly different depending on whether the asset is a public stock or shares in a private company, but the goal stays the same, which is to offer real exposure to the underlying asset through a digital format.

Meanwhile, Lacqua asked how Robinhood values shares in private companies. In response, Tenev explained that institutional and high-net-worth investors usually buy and sell these shares on secondary markets through negotiated deals. 

Speaking further, the Robinhood CEO said that under European rules, these tokens count as derivatives. He noted the EU’s clear crypto regulations, especially MiCA and MiFID, as the reason Robinhood could roll out these products. 

On the area of customer rights and possible disputes, especially regarding dividends, Tenev said many early efforts in this space failed to give users full benefits like dividend payouts. Nonetheless, he confirmed that Robinhood found a way to offer those rights within its system. 

Tenev Talks Tokenization in the US

Lacqua then asked whether Robinhood plans to launch tokenized products in the U.S. Tenev said the SEC already has the power to approve tokenization without needing new laws. 

He mentioned that SEC Chair Paul Atkins recently called tokenization a great innovation. Tenev agreed with this. “We think tokenization is perhaps the biggest innovation to come into capital markets in the past decade,” he said.

According to him, the U.S. shouldn’t fall behind. “The opportunity is too large to ignore,” he added. Tenev added that Robinhood has joined tokenization roundtables at the SEC and that momentum is growing across the industry.

Still, he admitted that change might take time. He pointed out that while the current U.S. financial system works, it still doesn’t offer 24/7 access like tokenized platforms can. 

He also noted that many institutions still rely on outdated systems. Despite this, he still expressed confidence that the growing demand for useful blockchain-based products will encourage faster adoption.

Robinhood’s Push into Tokenization 

Notably, Robinhood officially entered the tokenization space on June 30, 2025, by launching tokenized trading for more than 200 U.S. ETFs and stocks in the EU. 

On that same day, the company also introduced promotional tokens for shares in private companies like OpenAI and SpaceX. Interestingly, crypto exchange Kraken also introduced tokenized trading for different U.S. stocks on Solana.

However, to support its own project, Robinhood has revealed plans to build its own blockchain, an Ethereum-compatible layer-2 network called “Robinhood Chain,” based on the Arbitrum Orbit framework.

While this marked a big step forward, it also drew regulatory attention. This month, EU regulators, including the Bank of Lithuania, have started reviewing Robinhood’s offerings after OpenAI raised concerns that the tokens did not represent actual equity. 

Despite this, Robinhood has continued to advocate for tokenization. Back in May, the company submitted a proposal to the SEC outlining a federal framework for real-world asset tokenization in the U.S.