Robinhood Launches Tokenized US ETFs and Stocks for Private Companies in Europe
Robinhood (NASDAQ: HOOD) has launched a tokenized version of US ETFs and stocks for private companies like OpenAI and SpaceX. This move increased Robinhood's stock price by 12.77% to $93.63.
- The platform will utilize the Arbitrum Layer 2 blockchain to trade around 200 US ETF tokens in Europe.
- Initial offerings include the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO), which has $677.9 billion in assets under management.
- Robinhood aims to enable 24/7 trading with self-custody features, zero commission, and direct dividend payments within the app.
- Upcoming tokens will link to popular stocks such as Nvidia, Apple, and Microsoft, alongside private firms like OpenAI and SpaceX.
- The RWA tokenization market grew by 260% in the first half of the year, potentially accelerating further with Robinhood's initiatives.
Ciarán Fitzpatrick from JP Morgan Securities Services suggested that while tokenization could benefit ETFs by allowing integration with digital assets, it adds complexity due to the traditional mechanisms still required for creating ETF shares.