Robinhood has launched a public testnet for Robinhood Chain, a financial-grade Ethereum Layer 2 built on Arbitrum. Johan Kerblatt, senior vice president and general manager of Robinhood Crypto, announced the testnet at Consensus Hong Kong on Wednesday, marking the first public development stage for the chain, which was first unveiled at the company’s Cannes keynote speech last year.
In an interview with BeInCrypto in Hong Kong ahead of the announcement, Curblat outlined the company’s vision for the chain, including tokenized real-world assets, 24/7 trading, and a $1 million developer hackathon program.
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Why build your own chain?
Testnet provides access to network entry points, developer documentation, and full compatibility with standard Ethereum development tools. Ecosystem partners like Alchemy and LayerZero are already building on the chain.
The launch occurs at a critical moment. Robinhood on Tuesday reported fourth-quarter revenue of $1.28 billion, below analysts’ expectations of $1.35 billion. Cryptocurrency trading revenue fell to $221 million from $268 million in the previous quarter as Bitcoin fell 23% over the same period. The company’s stock price has fallen from an all-time high of $154 in October, amid a widespread downturn in cryptocurrencies.
Robinhood offered its first tokenized US stocks to EU customers in July 2025 through a partnership with Arbitrum, offering fee-free tokens linked to over 200 US stocks and ETFs. The product currently covers over 1,000 equity tokens across the EU and EEA. However, the company always intended to move to its own chain.
“It was a two-step process from the beginning. With Arbitrum’s technology, we can first launch on Arbitrum One and then move to our own chain,” Kerbrat told BeInCrypto.
The core motivation is customization. While general purpose Layer 2 networks handle compliance at the smart contract level, Robinhood Chain embeds regulatory requirements directly into the chain layer. This distinction is important for tokenized securities, where the minting and burning of equity tokens must comply with different rules in each jurisdiction.
While the chain itself remains permissionless and anyone can build on it, the products Robinhood develops on top of it are specifically designed for regulated financial services.
From stock tokens to real-world assets
While tokenized public stocks were the starting point, Robinhood’s ambitions go far beyond publicly traded stocks. Kerblat said the company’s tokenization engine is ultimately designed to support private equity, real estate, art, and other real-world assets.
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A key part of the value proposition is expanded trading hours. Robinhood stock tokens currently trade 24 hours a day, 5 days a week. The move to the Robinhood chain is expected to enable 24/7 trading and eliminate any remaining gaps tied to traditional market schedules.
In addition to integration with liquidity pools and lending protocols, instant settlement and self-custody are also on the roadmap. Together, these features represent a significant upgrade from current tokenized equity products that rely on the Arbitrum One infrastructure.
Developer ecosystem and DeFi focus
In the short term, Robinhood is focused on attracting developers to build decentralized exchanges, perpetual trading platforms, and lending protocols on-chain. These are natural extensions of existing intermediary and crypto products.
To boost the ecosystem, the company is planning a series of hackathons in multiple regions with a total prize pool of $1 million. Kerblat said the focus will be on financial applications.
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Expansion into the Asia Pacific region
Consensus The launch of the testnet in Hong Kong coincides with Robinhood’s deepening expansion into the Asia-Pacific region. Robinhood completed its $200 million acquisition of Bitstamp in June 2025, gaining access to the exchange’s more than 50 active licenses and registrations around the world and institutional crypto services business.
Mr Kerblat said the event was an opportunity to meet face-to-face with Bitstamp’s Singapore-based customers. With this acquisition, Robinhood now has licenses in Singapore and Indonesia. It also acquired two small companies in Indonesia to establish a local presence.
Indonesia, which has around 13 million crypto users, is a priority market. Karblat said early conversations with Indonesian regulators were positive, with discussions focused on AML compliance and risk disclosure rather than resistance to the company’s entry.
Kerblat said Robinhood’s regulatory track record across FINRA, New York DFS, the EU’s MiCA and Singapore’s MAS gives the company confidence to navigate various jurisdictions.
Diversification of profit models
The fourth-quarter earnings shortfall highlighted persistent concerns about Robinhood’s heavy reliance on trade-based revenue, particularly from crypto trading. The company is diversifying on many fronts.
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Staking started in the United States in 2025, and staking assets have reached approximately $1 billion. The Robinhood chain itself aims to generate new forms of infrastructure-driven revenue over time.
On the trading side, Robinhood has invested in advanced tools to attract high-frequency, high-volume traders, an division that Kerblat said provides a more stable revenue baseline even in soft markets. The company also expanded its fee tiers from three to seven, with fees as low as 0.03% for large traders.
Institutional channels are also growing. Bitstamp’s crypto-as-a-service offering allows banks, hedge funds, and family offices to provide their customers with access to cryptocurrencies. Curblat noted that financial institutions tend to enter the market during recessions, providing a countercyclical buffer.
On the other hand, there are some bright spots in prediction markets. CEO Vlad Tenev said at an internal event in December that prediction markets are Robinhood’s “fastest growing product line ever by revenue,” with 11 billion contracts traded by more than 1 million customers.
what’s next
The public testnet is the first phase of a multi-stage rollout. Robinhood plans to move its existing equity token products onto the chain before eventually moving to mainnet. A specific schedule for the mainnet launch has not been disclosed.
“Our vision hasn’t changed: We’re building a financial super app,” Tenev said in the company’s fourth-quarter earnings report.
