Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev says tokenized real-world assets represent the biggest growth opportunity for the crypto industry. In comments to CNBC, he argued that digital assets need practical use and economic backing if blockchain adoption is going to hold over the long run.
Tenev said creating thousands of tokens with no underlying utility adds little to the broader financial system. His view is that bringing traditional financial assets on-chain would do more to expand blockchain adoption and increase its role across global markets. The next phase, in his framing, is less about speculative token issuance and more about assets tied to real economic value.
Robinhood expands tokenized stock products
The remarks come as Robinhood broadens its digital asset strategy through tokenized investment products. The company recently launched Stock Tokens, giving eligible users access to tokenized equities that can be traded around the clock rather than only during standard market hours.
Robinhood also plans to connect those tokenized assets with DeFi. Under that model, users would eventually be able to place the assets into lending pools and use them as collateral for other blockchain-based financial activity. That would move tokenized equities beyond simple trading exposure and into a wider on-chain financial stack.
Interest extends beyond public equities
Robinhood is also exploring ways to give users exposure to privately held companies, including OpenAI. The effort points to a broader strategy: using blockchain rails to widen access to investment products rather than limiting the business to conventional crypto trading.
The company first built its name through commission-free stock trading for retail users, then expanded into cryptocurrencies and tokenized financial products. Tenev said blockchain is gradually becoming part of the infrastructure behind financial markets, and he expects more assets that currently operate through traditional systems to shift onto blockchain networks over time.
Institutional interest persists despite market pressure
While emphasizing tokenized assets, Tenev said Bitcoin will remain important within the digital asset ecosystem. Even so, he believes the next stage of industry expansion will be driven by moving real-world assets onto blockchain networks.
His comments come during a weak period for the market. Bitcoin traded near $61,675 in Friday’s session and was down roughly 30% since the start of the year, while the broader digital asset market had shed about $1 trillion in value over the same period. Even with that backdrop, institutional involvement has continued to build, with Wall Street firms, payment companies, and major financial institutions increasing their activity around blockchain technology and tokenized assets.