Tenev Urges U.S. to Open the Door to Tokenized Stock Trading

Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev is pressing U.S. policymakers to modernize securities rules so tokenized stocks can trade in America. In a long post published Tuesday, Tenev said the absence of U.S. Stock Tokens remains “one glaring gap” in Robinhood’s tokenization push. His comments came five days after the SEC pulled a scheduled discussion of its “innovation exemption,” the relief that would have allowed blockchain venues to trade tokenized equities outside existing market-structure rules. The agency shelved the exemption in May and then again on Aug. 13, after the White House warned it could complicate Digital Asset Market Clarity Act negotiations and SIFMA said a change of that size should go through formal rulemaking. Robinhood’s own footprint in the market is still small. According to RWA.xyz, its Stock Tokens hold $32.2 million in value across 191 assets, or 1.34% of the $2.4 billion tokenized equity market. Ondo leads with $882.9 million, followed by Kraken’s xStocks at $561.7 million and Binance’s bStocks at $532.2 million. Robinhood’s supply doubled over the past 30 days, the fastest growth among the top six issuers. Tenev’s case rests on three points: real-time settlement, round-the-clock trading and portability. He pointed back to the January 2021 GameStop episode, when clearinghouse collateral demands tied to two-day settlement forced Robinhood to restrict buying. In his view, onchain settlement removes that pressure when markets are most stressed. Robinhood already offers 24/5 U.S. trading by stitching together exchanges and alternative trading systems. On a blockchain, Tenev wrote, 24/7 trading and fractional ownership come built in. Self-custody would also let holders move positions between platforms instantly, a process that can take days over legacy ACAT rails, and use them as collateral or lend them in DeFi. Robinhood Stock Tokens are backed 1:1 by underlying shares and pass through dividends, but holders do not own the shares themselves. Tenev said the design of the tokens will evolve as regulatory frameworks mature, with the goal of reaching instruments that carry the full rights of traditional shares. Robinhood Chain, the Arbitrum-based L2 launched at the company’s London event on July 1, reached 100 million transactions in roughly three weeks. Stock Tokens now cover more than 190 U.S. equities across more than 120 countries. Tenev closed by pointing to private company shares, saying the accredited investor standard still keeps most Americans out.