Robinhood CEO Warns U.S. Risks Falling Behind in Tokenized Stock Rules

Vlad Tenev, the chief executive of Robinhood Markets Inc. (HOOD), is pressing U.S. securities regulators to write rules for tokenized stocks. He warned on Aug. 18 that the country risks falling behind as blockchain-based equity trading explodes overseas.

Global finance is entering what Tenev called a "tokenization supercycle" that could reshape how assets are owned, traded and transferred. He urged the Securities and Exchange Commission to move beyond debates about whether token holders hold direct ownership of the underlying shares. Robinhood's tokenized products are backed one-to-one with actual stock, but holders do not own the securities directly. That ownership structure sits at the center of the regulatory discussion.

Fixating on that point misses the bigger opportunity, Tenev argued. His vision centers on rebuilding the basic infrastructure of asset ownership so markets can run faster and with more transparency. Robinhood already offers more than 2,000 stock tokens to qualified users in the European Union and the European Economic Area. The tokens give blockchain-based exposure to U.S. equities and exchange-traded funds.

The firm has also launched a public testnet for Robinhood Chain, a Layer 2 network built on Ethereum aimed at financial use cases. By April the testnet had processed over 100 million transactions.

Settlement efficiency is a core part of Tenev's argument. He pointed to the 2021 GameStop episode, when Robinhood had to restrict buying after a surge in clearinghouse margin requirements. Instant settlement on a blockchain would remove the risk window between trade execution and final clearing, he said.

U.S. equity markets currently settle on a T+1 schedule, meaning trades finalize one business day after execution. Tenev said tokenization could compress that timeline further and reduce collateral requirements at the same time.

He also flagged two other shortcomings in legacy market structure. First, trading hours. Robinhood now offers extended hours five days a week in the U.S., but blockchain infrastructure could make 24/7 trading a native feature rather than an add-on. Second, asset portability. Moving holdings between brokers today takes days. Blockchain tokens can shift between compatible wallets much faster.

The fundamental roadblock is that U.S. securities laws were written for centralized exchanges, broker-dealers and clearinghouses. Putting stocks on a distributed ledger does not exempt them from those rules.

The SEC has started to look at parts of the regulatory architecture. Last June the agency proposed eliminating a rule meant to protect trade orders from receiving worse prices across different venues. Officials said technology had diminished the rule's practical value.

Tokenized stock trading is growing fast internationally. Blockchain-based equity trading volume reached roughly $9 billion in 2026, an increase of more than 800% from the prior year, according to data cited by Tenev.

Robinhood is positioning for that growth. Tenev sees the broader strategic opportunity as using crypto infrastructure to improve traditional financial services, not just to trade crypto-native instruments.

"It would be a strange outcome if the rest of the world could build the future of ownership around American assets while Americans themselves were left behind," Tenev said.

Robinhood carries an Alpha Score of 44 out of 100, labeled Mixed, in the Financials sector. GameStop Corp. (GME), the stock at the center of the 2021 episode Tenev referenced, holds an Alpha Score of 41, also Mixed, in Consumer Discretionary.