Bernstein reiterated its bullish view on Robinhood Markets (HOOD) in a research note released last Tuesday, keeping an Outperform rating and a $160 price target. Based on Robinhood’s Sept. 5 closing price of $122.11, that target implies about 31% upside. The stock fell 2.09% on the day.
The report’s central argument focused on Robinhood Chain, the Layer-2 network that Robinhood officially launched on July 1. Bernstein said the network, only two months old, is already emerging as a meaningful source of revenue for the company.
Bernstein says Robinhood Chain fees have topped Solana and BNB Chain
The note, led by Gautam Chhugani and his team, listed several operating metrics for Robinhood Chain:
- Total value locked of about $1.5 billion
- More than $50 billion in DEX trading volume
- Daily trading fees of roughly $2 million to $4 million
- About $33 million in cumulative fees over the past 15 days, the highest among all chains in that period
For comparison, Bernstein said Solana generated about $11 million in fees over the same 15-day stretch, while BNB Chain generated about $9 million. The report stated, “The chain is now earnings,” arguing that the network has moved beyond the stage of experimental infrastructure and has become a real revenue driver.
Robinhood keeps about 90% of fees, Bernstein says
Bernstein also broke down how fees on Robinhood Chain are distributed. According to the report:
- Robinhood retains about 90%
- Arbitrum receives about 10% as the underlying technology provider
- Ethereum gets less than 1% as the Layer-1 data availability fee
Robinhood Chain is built on the Arbitrum Stack. Under that fee structure, every $10 million in onchain fees would leave Robinhood with about $9 million, according to the report.
Bernstein contrasted that setup with traditional public chains, where a large share of economic rewards typically goes to validators or liquidity providers. In Robinhood Chain’s case, the fee model sends most of the revenue directly to the company.
Tokenized stocks and stablecoin supply are also rising
Beyond DEX activity, Bernstein highlighted two other growth indicators on the network.
On tokenized stocks, the firm said total value on Robinhood Chain climbed from about $10 million to $140 million over the past two weeks. During the week of Aug. 30, Robinhood Chain accounted for about 32% of the market’s tokenized stock transfer value, second only to BNB Chain.
Stablecoin growth was also described as significant. Bernstein said total stablecoin supply on Robinhood Chain has reached about $1 billion, up from $241 million in early July. Of that total, USDG accounts for about 66% and USDe about 33%.
StoneX has also issued a bullish target on Robinhood
Bernstein is not the only Wall Street firm to take a positive view on Robinhood. The report referenced coverage by The Block from last week saying StoneX had also reiterated a bullish stance, with a $170 price target and about 45% upside. StoneX’s case also included Robinhood’s Layer-2 business and its prediction market operation.
Gas fee criticism remains, and the report does not address it directly
Robinhood Chain’s growth has not been free of controversy. The market had previously criticized the network for high gas fees. During the PONS meme coin frenzy, daily fees on Robinhood Chain once reached $6 million, leading to questions about whether the network was being driven by a single project.
Bernstein’s report did not directly answer those concerns. Its focus stayed on revenue growth and market share.
Bernstein projects $160 million in annual fees by 2028
Bernstein estimates that Robinhood Chain will generate $160 million in annual fees by 2028.
The report also noted that, at the current pace of $2 million to $4 million in daily fees, implied annualized revenue would be about $730 million to $1.46 billion. On that basis, the 2028 target was described in the article as conservative.
The article listed several points to watch next: whether DEX volume can continue through tokenized stocks and RWA applications after meme coin activity cools, whether USDG and USDe supply could shrink under regulatory pressure, and whether other Layer-2 networks built on the Arbitrum Stack will launch similar exchange-owned chain models.