Robinhood (HOOD) starts testing its own blockchain as crypto push deepens

Robinhood has launched the public testnet for its proprietary Ethereum layer-2 blockchain, named Robinhood Chain, which is built using Arbitrum technology. The brokerage plans a broader launch later this year, aiming to facilitate 24/7 trading and allow users to self-custody assets via its crypto wallet, while also enabling bridging to DeFi applications.

The chain is specifically designed to support tokenized real-world assets, such as equities and ETFs, allowing Robinhood to customize the environment for regulated financial products and their varying compliance needs, rather than focusing purely on scaling Ethereum. Johann Kerbrat, Robinhood's SVP of crypto, stated that the goal was to leverage Ethereum's security and EVM ecosystem liquidity while customizing the chain for tokenized assets.

This move builds upon Robinhood's previous tokenization efforts in Europe. While Ethereum's base layer is improving, Robinhood views layer-2s as specialized environments for embedding features difficult to implement on the main chain, aligning with Vitalik Buterin's view that L2s serve purposes beyond just scaling.

(Source：CoinDesk)