Robinhood’s recent rollout of tokenized stocks has sparked controversy, especially following OpenAI’s distancing statement. At the “To Catch a Token” event in Cannes, Robinhood unveiled 200 tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs, including perpetual futures, aimed at European customers. Plans are in place to extend the offerings to 2,000 stocks by year-end, including private shares from OpenAI and SpaceX. However, OpenAI clarified that these tokens are not equities and affirmed they did not endorse Robinhood’s initiative. Concerns have arisen about potential “walled garden” restrictions, limiting token movement to approved wallets, which may hinder broader DeFi applications. Ren, a prominent voice in the debate, highlighted these concerns, suggesting the token contracts may limit usability. Robinhood plans to transition to its own Arbitrum-based L2 solution, Robinhood Chain, launching in 2026, with aspirations for a self-custody blockchain, pending regulatory approvals for U.S. tokenized offerings.
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