Uniswap Labs founder and CEO Hayden Adams said at WebX 2026 in Tokyo on July 14 that Robinhood Chain’s rapid growth has become one of the most discussed topics in the industry.
Speaking during a fireside chat at the Coinpost-hosted event, Adams said Robinhood, as a major fintech company, already has both meme activity and real-world assets, or RWA, on its self-built chain. He said that is a positive sign for a new chain, adding that the RWA side is even more compelling. In his view, Robinhood Chain could become a bridge between tokenized traditional assets and crypto-native assets.
Builders still face a weak market
Adams said the market is still in a bear phase and morale across the industry is low, but startup teams always have to work through different timing and different luck. They still need to keep going.
He compared the current cycle with Uniswap’s launch period, when market conditions were also poor and few people believed crypto had a future. This time, he said, there is still at least an expectation of adoption, while existing businesses and assets continue to move online and on-chain.
Why launching a chain can help startups
For founders, Adams said, building a chain offers clear advantages. Assets can reach global users faster through crypto rails. Without that route, teams may have to deal with startup costs tied to infrastructure, regulation, and market makers.
Uniswap Chain aims at the liquidity layer
On Uniswap Chain, Adams said the team often has to explain how crypto works to traditional finance clients. The core appeal, he said, is that crypto can move global assets at very low cost. The challenge is that many clients become nervous as soon as they hear the word crypto, and they also have to sort through different protocols, standards, and ecosystems inside the sector.
He said Uniswap’s edge comes from the reputation it has built over the past few years. Its long-term goal is to become the liquidity layer for on-chain assets worldwide. Adams added that Uniswap is improving its infrastructure and ecosystem version by version while working on many fronts at once, including speaking with outside partners, supporting more token issuance, and building more customized liquidity solutions for assets.
For this year, he said, the main focus will be RWA.