Robinhood officially launched the public mainnet of Robinhood Chain this week, an Ethereum Layer-2 network built on Arbitrum technology, marking a significant expansion into on-chain financial infrastructure and real-world assets (RWAs). The new network, which went live on July 1, 2026, aims to democratize access to global financial markets by enabling tokenized stocks, decentralized finance (DeFi) applications, and other on-chain financial products.
Tokenized Stocks Go Global
A cornerstone of Robinhood Chain is the introduction of "Stock Tokens," which are tokenized debt securities providing economic exposure to underlying securities such as US stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). These tokens are now available through the Robinhood Wallet in over 120 countries, though not in the United States, allowing for 24/7 trading and integration into DeFi protocols. This initiative enables eligible users to deploy tokens into lending pools or use them as trading collateral across the broader DeFi ecosystem.
Arbitrum Foundation and Ecosystem Partners
Robinhood Chain is built on Arbitrum's Layer 2 framework, leveraging its scaling solutions for high throughput and low transaction costs while maintaining Ethereum's security. A notable aspect of this integration is a fee-sharing model where Arbitrum will collect 10% of the fees generated on Robinhood Chain, with 8% directed to the Arbitrum treasury and 2% for development. Key infrastructure partners include Uniswap, deploying a dedicated automated market maker (AMM), Pleiades for proprietary trading, and Chainlink as the official data and cross-chain oracle provider for Robinhood Stock Tokens.
Robinhood Earn and DeFi Expansion
Alongside the mainnet launch, Robinhood introduced Robinhood Earn, a decentralized lending product. This allows eligible users to lend USDG, Robinhood's dollar-backed stablecoin, through a self-custody wallet, offering an estimated annual percentage yield (APY) of 7%. The lending product is powered by the Morpho lending protocol and features insurance procured through Lloyd's of London and RELM to cover losses from cyber or smart contract exploits. This move signifies Robinhood's deeper foray into decentralized financial services, offering users more ways to utilize their digital assets on-chain.
Background and Vision
Robinhood's journey into on-chain finance began with the public testnet launch of Robinhood Chain in February 2026, laying the groundwork for an ecosystem focused on tokenized real-world and digital assets. The company had previously introduced tokenized US equities for EU and EEA users in June 2025, initially settling on Arbitrum One, with the plan to migrate to the dedicated Robinhood Chain upon its mainnet launch. This strategic pivot reflects Robinhood's broader mission to democratize finance by bringing the efficiency and accessibility of blockchain technology to traditional financial products.
What to Watch
The launch of Robinhood Chain and its suite of tokenized assets sets the stage for further innovation in the RWA space. Future developments will likely focus on expanding the range of tokenized assets, enhancing DeFi integrations, and navigating the evolving regulatory landscape for on-chain financial products globally. Robinhood also plans to roll out AI-powered trading agents for crypto soon, further integrating advanced technology into its offerings. The success of Robinhood Chain will be a key indicator of mainstream adoption for tokenized real-world assets and the broader on-chain financial ecosystem.
Original announcement: Robinhood