Robinhood Markets (HOOD) is making waves in the global financial services sector with the launch of tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs in the European Union, marking a major step in its evolution from a crypto-only platform to a full-scale blockchain-based investment app.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Announced at an event in Cannes, France, Robinhood\u2019s European users can now trade more than 200 tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs, with dividend payments distributed directly through the app. Initially, the stock tokens will be issued on Arbitrum, a layer-two Ethereum-based blockchain. Robinhood also revealed plans to migrate these assets to its own proprietary blockchain, currently in development, which will support 24\/7 trading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This move transforms Robinhood\u2019s European offering, making it a comprehensive investment platform and broadening access to fractionalized, affordable equity investing. Tokenization allows traditional assets like stocks to be represented digitally, enabling fractional ownership and round-the-clock accessibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Steven Goldfeder, CEO of Offchain Labs, the company behind Arbitrum, praised the move, calling it a vision of the future. \u201cRobinhood is utilizing Arbitrum\u2019s technology to grow its core business, expand into new markets, and offer 400 million EU customers a trading experience on par with U.S. users,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The company also launched crypto perpetual futures<\/strong> in the EU, offering eligible users up to 3x leverage. Unlike traditional futures, these contracts don\u2019t expire, and they track spot prices of cryptocurrencies, giving traders flexible exposure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Meanwhile, U.S. users haven’t been left out. Robinhood has rolled out crypto staking<\/strong> for Ethereum and Solana to eligible American customers, with staking already available across the EU and EEA as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Robinhood\u2019s expansion underscores its ambition to make advanced financial tools more accessible. \u201cWe\u2019re onboarding the world to crypto by making it as easy to use as possible,\u201d said Johann Kerbrat, GM and SVP of Robinhood Crypto.<\/p>\n\n\n\n