Robinhood rolls out public blockchain, plans crypto trading for UK residents
Robinhood launched the public mainnet for Robinhood Chain, a layer 2 blockchain built on Arbitrum, about four months after its testnet debut. The company says the network is “AI-native” and focused on real-world assets, as part of a broader push into crypto and decentralized finance. Robinhood also plans to offer crypto trading in the UK soon and says its tokenized stock products are already available through its wallet app in more than 120 countries. CEO Vlad Tenev has argued tokenized stocks are inevitable and could reduce trading disruptions seen on traditional exchanges. The launch comes soon after Robinhood announced a 10% workforce cut and after crypto transaction revenue fell sharply year over year. Robinhood also introduced Robinhood Earn, a product that lets users lend USDG, a dollar-backed stablecoin, via self-custody wallets for an estimated 7% APY. Shares rose about 8% on the news.
