Robinhood's Self-Built Public Chain Launches Mainnet, "Brokerage" Officially Transforms into DeFi Gateway, HOOD Up Over 8% in a Single Day
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Robinhood's Self-Built Public Chain Launches Mainnet, "Brokerage" Officially Transforms into DeFi Gateway, HOOD Up Over 8% in a Single Day
This brokerage firm is no longer satisfied with operating a stock app for retail investors; instead, it aims to integrate stocks, tokens, derivatives, prediction markets, and AI agents into a single entry point.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAuthor: Claude, TechFlow
TechFlow Editor's Note: At the "The World is Flat" conference in London on July 1, Robinhood launched its self-built Ethereum Layer 2 network Robinhood Chain onto mainnet, simultaneously rolling out a full product line including tokenized stocks, 7% stablecoin lending powered by Morpho, Lighter perpetual futures, and AI agent trading. It also announced entry into Canada, securing a Singapore license, and preparing UK crypto business. This brokerage is no longer satisfied with being a retail stock App; it wants to stuff stocks, tokens, derivatives, prediction markets, and AI agents into a single entry point. On the day of the announcement, HOOD rose about 8.35% intraday, trading near $108.65.
Robinhood held a launch event at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich, London. CEO Vlad Tenev called it "the most grand global expansion and product vision to date." A complete stack from underlying public chain to upper-layer applications was unveiled on stage:
Its own chain, its own stablecoin, tokenized stocks, DeFi lending, AI trading, multi-continent distribution.
According to reports from The Block, Forbes, The Defiant, and other media, the core of this launch was Robinhood Chain officially moving from testnet to production environment. Around this chain, Robinhood connected previously scattered crypto moves into a closed loop in one go.
Robinhood Chain Mainnet Launch, Uniswap and Chainlink Enter on Day One
Robinhood Chain is an Ethereum Layer 2 network built on the Arbitrum tech stack. It debuted as a testnet at the Consensus conference in Hong Kong in February this year and moved to mainnet on July 1. Robinhood defines it as a chain that is "permissionless, AI-native, and built for real-world assets."
The first batch of partners is impressive. According to The Defiant, Uniswap deployed a dedicated Automated Market Maker (AMM) on the chain, serving as the main public liquidity venue; a company named Pleiades deployed its own AMM as a proprietary market-making venue. Additionally, Alchemy provides node infrastructure, BitGo provides custody, and Chainlink provides oracle and data services.
The positioning of this chain is to bring Robinhood's previously third-party public chain-dependent tokenized asset business under its own control. Tokenized stocks, on-chain lending, collateral, and trading integration can all run on a network it controls itself. This step brings Robinhood into the expanding camp of "enterprise-built public chains"; Coinbase's Base and Stripe's Tempo are similar samples. Capital and attention are shifting from neutral, developer-led public chains to these enterprise-backed networks.
Stock Tokens Land in 120+ Countries, Tokenized Stocks Trade 24/7 and Serve as Collateral
The launch event simultaneously introduced the new generation tokenized stock product Stock Tokens, available in over 120 countries via Robinhood Wallet, subject to local regulations.
According to FinanceFeeds, these tokenized stocks support 24/7 trading, can be used as collateral, and can be deployed into decentralized lending platforms. Spot trading is conducted through multiple decentralized exchanges including Uniswap, Rialto, Lighter, 1inch, and Arcus built by the dYdX team.
However, the product remains restricted in major markets.
Stock Tokens are not open to the US or US residents, and are similarly restricted in Canada, UK, Switzerland, UAE, and sanctioned markets. Robinhood's earlier generation tokenized US stock product launched for EU and EEA users in June 2025, covering over 200 stocks and ETF tokens, operating under Robinhood Europe within the MiFID II framework. In comparison, this time the entire tokenized stock tech stack is moved onto the self-built chain.
Robinhood Earn Integrates Morpho, Stablecoin Lending Offers 7% APY
Robinhood also rolled out Robinhood Earn to US users. Officially, this is the first decentralized lending product offered directly within the main Robinhood App.
According to Robinhood's official announcement, users can lend USD-backed stablecoin USDG via self-custody wallets, with an estimated APY of about 7%. The underlying lending infrastructure is powered by the Morpho protocol. According to DefiLlama data, Morpho currently has about $6.6 billion in Total Value Locked across multiple chains. Supporters of the product also include Steakhouse, Ethena, Spark, and Maple. To cover losses from network attacks or smart contract vulnerabilities, Robinhood purchased insurance through Lloyd's of London and RELM.
In the current interest rate environment, a 7% stablecoin yield is a significant number. This also marks Robinhood's intention: to compete head-on with those DeFi protocols that have long offered similar returns, but with mainstream distribution and App infrastructure that the latter lack. It is worth noting that on-chain lending is completed through users' own self-custody wallets. Morpho is an independent lending protocol with no affiliation to Robinhood. Robinhood neither custodies user crypto assets nor holds private keys—there is actual risk of principal loss behind the yields.
Wallet Integrates Lighter Perpetuals, US Users Blocked
The revamped Robinhood Wallet adds native integration for Lighter. Lighter is an Ethereum-based decentralized derivatives exchange. Users in eligible specific jurisdictions can trade perpetual futures directly within the wallet.
According to The Block, this product is not open to residents of restricted regions such as UK, US, Canada, Switzerland, UAE, and Singapore. In other words, Robinhood opened this derivatives entry to overseas users but blocked its US home base.
Behind this is a layer of investment relationship. Lighter completed $68 million in financing last November with a $1.5 billion valuation. Investors included Robinhood Ventures. In this collaboration, Lighter committed to investing $11 million worth of native token LIT to the Robinhood community. According to Robinhood, eligible users trading perpetuals via Robinhood Wallet can get 2x points, while trading via Lighter web end is 1x. Points are directly redeemed for LIT. Tenev himself publicly congratulated Lighter founder Vladimir Novakovski and his team on the mainnet launch. Perpetual trading involves leverage; risks include total loss of principal, which Robinhood emphasized repeatedly in disclosure documents.
Canada Launch, Singapore License, UK on the Way, Europe Perpetuals Expand to Commodities and Forex
This launch event was also a multi-continent expansion declaration.
According to FX News Group, Robinhood officially entered Canada through the acquisition of WonderFi, announced on Canada Day; the Singapore subsidiary obtained a Capital Markets Services license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), paving the way for future brokerage services; UK crypto business is "coming soon," completing Robinhood UK's existing stock, options, and futures product line. Robinhood states it currently serves nearly 28 million customers in 38 countries across three continents.
In Europe, perpetual futures broke through the scope of crypto assets for the first time. According to Robinhood's announcement, eligible European users can now trade perpetual contracts linked to commodities, ETFs, and forex. Underlying assets include gold, silver, QQQ, EUR/USD, WTI and Brent crude, EWY, with up to 10x leverage, launched in batches. After crypto perpetuals expanded to 30 European countries last year, they have become one of Robinhood's fastest-growing products in Europe. The US market introduced maker order types, offering fees as low as 0% for professional and advanced traders providing liquidity.
Robinhood also announced extending the stock and options AI agent trading capabilities launched in the US last month to the crypto field, soon launching Agentic Accounts for crypto. Users can connect their chosen AI models to Robinhood's data sources and tools via Trading MCP, allowing agents to continuously scan market conditions and execute strategies when markets turn, but capital allocation and safety guardrails remain under user control. During the launch event, Robinhood also secured the Guinness World Record for "Most Items Purchased by an AI Agent in Three Minutes" via the Agentic Trading platform and AI consumption features.
The Other Side of Expansion: 10% Layoffs, Q1 Crypto Revenue Halved
However, behind this aggressive product narrative lies a recent financial background that is less than ideal.
According to The Block, this round of expansion proceeded just weeks after Robinhood announced layoffs of about 10%. The company expects to record about $28 million in restructuring costs for this, citing a shift to a leaner, more "high-performance" operating model. The crypto business itself just experienced a weak quarter: crypto revenue fell 47% year-over-year to $134 million, and native App crypto trading volume dropped 48% to $24 billion.
The capital market's immediate reaction to this launch event was positive. According to TheStreet, on the day of the announcement, HOOD rose about 8.35% intraday, trading near $108.65. Wall Street is also doubling down: Goldman Sachs maintained a Buy rating and raised the target price to $121, Deutsche Bank raised the target price from $105 to $113. But even so, HOOD remains in a correction within the year, earlier falling about 25% from highs. For investors, the real question is whether Robinhood can transform crypto from a cyclical trading revenue line into a larger infrastructure and distribution business—self-built chain gives it a foundation, wallet integration gives it an entry point for DeFi trading, the rest depends on time to verify.
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