Robinhood is planning to introduce tokenized stock trading alongside decentralized finance (DeFi) features in the coming months, chief executive Vlad Tenev said on Wednesday, marking five years since the trading restrictions during the 2021 GameStop episode.
Tenev said the expansion, including 24/7 trading and the ability for investors to self-custody tokenized stock tokens with possibilities for lending, staking and other DeFi utility, reflects Robinhood’s effort to leverage blockchain settlement to modernize equity markets.
Tokenization As A settlement solution
Tenev framed tokenization as a structural fix to what he described as outdated settlement infrastructure in U.S. equities. Traditional markets still operate on a next-business-day rolling settlement cycle, even after the shift from a two-day (T+2) to one-day (T+1) settlement framework.
He argued that moving stocks on-chain could cut settlement delays and liquidity risk, reducing pressure on brokers and clearinghouses and helping avoid liquidity-driven restrictions like those seen during the meme-stock volatility.
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In Europe, Robinhood already offers blockchain-based tokens tied to more than 2,000 U.S. stocks and ETFs that trade round-the-clock, with the company now planning to extend features such as self-custody and DeFi integration to users in coming months.
Tokenized Stocks And regulatory context
Asset tokenization, the process of representing traditional securities as digital tokens on a blockchain, has gained momentum as firms seek to combine financial markets with blockchain settlement and programmability.
Robinhood, along with other players including Kraken and Gemini, has rolled out tokenized equity products internationally, offering 24/5 or 24/7 trading and enabling features not supported by legacy markets.
Regulators in the United States, including U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission leadership, have signaled support for clearer frameworks around tokenized stocks, citing potential benefits like shorter settlement times and broader access to markets.
Robinhood’s current EU offerings on Arbitrum (ARB) layer-2 provide 24/5 trading of tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs, with future plans to enable deeper DeFi functionality and self-custody as regulatory clarity evolves.
The next phase will test how tokenized equities and associated DeFi features can integrate with mainstream investor demand and compliance frameworks in the United States while aiming for broader adoption of real-time settlement on blockchain rails.
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