Robinhood has officially dipped its toes deeper into the world of blockchain.
The company recently launched a public testnet for Robinhood Chain, a new Ethereum layer‑2 network powered by Arbitrum technology.
The move signals a shift from just being a trading platform to running its own onchain infrastructure.
According to Robinhood, the testnet is now live for developers and comes with full documentation, network access points, compatibility with standard Ethereum tools, and early integrations from infrastructure partners.
The company aims to give builders the tools to experiment with tokenized real-world and digital assets, all on a decentralized network.
Building for Financial-Grade Applications
Robinhood Chain isn’t just a playground for experimental tokens.
The platform is designed for “financial-grade” use cases, which includes 24/7 trading, seamless bridging, self-custody, and decentralized products like tokenized asset platforms, lending markets, and perpetual futures exchanges.
In other words, this isn’t your typical testnet for fun projects — Robinhood wants to make sure their chain can handle serious money and complex financial instruments from the start.
Johann Kerbrat, Robinhood’s senior VP and GM of Crypto and International, said the chain lays the groundwork for “an ecosystem that will define the future of tokenized real-world assets” and promises to tap into DeFi liquidity within Ethereum.
Tokenizing Real-World Assets
This move aligns with Robinhood’s ongoing push to tokenize nearly 500 U.S. stocks and ETFs on Arbitrum.
The idea is that blockchain can provide real-time settlement, potentially reducing trading freezes that Robinhood has faced in the past.
CEO Vlad Tenev highlighted that tokenized stocks could improve market resilience, especially during periods of high volatility.
Robinhood Chain also reflects a broader industry trend.
Major exchanges are increasingly trying to control both the user interface and the onchain rails.
Coinbase, for instance, runs its regulated exchange while building Base L2 and rolling out tokenized equities.
Kraken is doing something similar with its Optimism-based network, Ink, alongside xStocks tokenized assets.
Learning From Past Hurdles
Robinhood hasn’t always had a smooth ride.
The company has faced criticism over system outages during market surges and controversy over its reliance on payment-for-order-flow in equities.
Some argue that moving into tokenized assets and decentralized infrastructure could help mitigate these risks, but it’s still early days.
The testnet is a critical step — developers can now explore stock-style tokens and integration with the Robinhood Wallet, but these features are only live in a sandbox environment until the mainnet launches later this year.
What’s Next
For developers, the immediate next step is experimenting on the public testnet.
Robinhood promises more features in the coming months, including tighter integration with its wallet and testnet-only assets to simulate tokenized stocks.
From a broader perspective, Robinhood is positioning itself to compete with the likes of Coinbase and Kraken in the end-to-end tokenization space, potentially becoming a one-stop hub for trading both real-world and digital assets onchain.
The mainnet launch later this year will be the real test to see if Robinhood can scale its vision securely and reliably.
Summary
Robinhood has launched a public testnet for Robinhood Chain, its Ethereum layer‑2 network built with Arbitrum technology, opening the doors for developers to explore tokenized real-world and digital assets.
Designed for financial-grade applications, the chain supports 24/7 trading, decentralized products, and seamless bridging.
This initiative aligns with Robinhood’s strategy to tokenize U.S. stocks and ETFs and reflects a broader industry trend of exchanges controlling both the user interface and underlying blockchain rails.
The mainnet is expected later in 2026, with features like Robinhood Wallet integration and simulated stock-style tokens coming soon.
