Five years after the GameStop trading frenzy exposed cracks in U.S. market plumbing, Robinhood is leaning further into blockchain technology. The brokerage plans to expand its tokenized stock offering with round-the-clock trading, faster settlement, and self-custody, signaling a deeper shift toward onchain market infrastructure.
CEO Vlad Tenev says the turmoil of early 2021 still shapes how he views traditional equity markets. When Robinhood and other brokers restricted buying in stocks such as GameStop, the backlash was swift and global. According to Tenev, the core issue was not extreme price swings, but the strain caused by slow settlement systems that forced brokers to post large collateral deposits during periods of intense trading.
In a recent post on X, Tenev described the episode as a collision between outdated financial infrastructure and unprecedented trading volume. The result, he said, was higher funding requirements, trading limits, and frustrated customers.
Why settlement speed still matters
Since then, U.S. equity markets have shortened settlement cycles from two days to one. Tenev has acknowledged this as meaningful progress, but not a full fix. Even next-day settlement can stretch into multiple days over weekends and holidays, leaving brokers and clearinghouses exposed in fast-moving global markets.
For Robinhood, that lingering risk reinforces the case for tokenization.
Tokenized stocks and onchain settlement
Tokenizing equities allows trades to settle in near-real time, Tenev argues, reducing systemic risk and removing the need for trading restrictions tied to clearing and funding constraints. Beyond settlement speed, tokenized stocks can also support fractional ownership and continuous trading, features that traditional market structures were not built to handle.
Robinhood began offering tokenized stocks to European customers in June 2025. The initial launch provided exposure to more than 2,000 U.S.-listed equities with 24/5 trading. Issued on Arbitrum One, the tokens track price movements and dividends without requiring customers to hold the underlying shares directly.
The company now plans to expand that offering. According to Tenev, upcoming features could include 24/7 trading, self-custody of tokenized shares, and access to decentralized finance tools such as lending and other onchain applications. Robinhood has also said it intends to support tokenized assets on its own Layer 2 network, Robinhood Chain, to improve scale and integration.
Regulation remains the key hurdle
Robinhood’s strategy places it at the center of a broader push to bring equities onchain, even as regulators continue to debate how tokenized securities should be governed.
Tenev has emphasized that progress in the U.S. will depend on clear and durable rules. He has pointed to proposed legislation such as the Clarity Act as a way to establish modern standards for tokenized securities and reduce the risk of future policy reversals.
The company has already engaged with European regulators on its tokenized equity products and has publicly supported U.S. crypto market structure legislation. Recent guidance from the Securities and Exchange Commission has reaffirmed that tokenized securities remain subject to federal securities laws, underscoring the importance of compliant issuance and trading models.
Tenev has argued that legislation could lock in regulatory progress and help ensure that trading halts like those seen in 2021 do not happen again.
Looking ahead
Robinhood’s push for tokenized, always-on stock markets reflects a broader rethink of how equities could trade in a digital, global economy. While regulatory clarity will shape how quickly these ideas take hold, the company is betting that onchain settlement and 24/7 access can address weaknesses that the GameStop saga brought into sharp focus.
For investors, the shift could eventually mean faster, more flexible access to markets. For the industry, it marks another step toward blending traditional finance with blockchain-based systems.
