Robinhood expands into tokenized equities and crypto perp futures, plans Layer 2 blockchain with Arbitrum

Online brokerage and trading platform Robinhood unveiled on Monday that it will be offering EU users the chance to invest in more than 200 tokenized versions of U.S. stocks."We've launched U.S. stock and ETF tokens in the EU, giving eligible customers exposure to US equities," the company said in a blog post. "European customers will have access to 200+ US stock and ETF tokens. Stock token holders will also receive dividend payments directly in their app."Robinhood co-founder and CEO Vlad Tenev, speaking Monday at an event in Cannes, France, thanked several 'regulators and policymakers' in the audience, crediting them with helping pave the way for the platform’s new offerings in the EU.Offering traders the chance to invest in digital tokens that track the price of popular U.S. equities like Tesla and Apple is considered a major growth area by many in the digital assets industry, potentially worth billions of dollars. So far companies have primarily only been able to offer tokenized U.S. stocks to non-U.S. traders. Then last week trading platform Dinari said it was the first company first to secure U.S. approval to offer the blockchain-based financial instruments."With tokenized stocks, our European app transitions from being a crypto-only app to an all-in-one investment app powered by crypto," the company said. Tokenized stocks will utilize the Arbitrum blockchain.Other Robinhood announcements from Monday included launching perpetual futures in the EU and the staking of Ethereum and Solana in the U.S., EU and EEA. The company also said it is developing its own Layer 2, which is based on Arbitrum.Robinhood's shares traded up more than 8% to $90.49 at publication time, a new all-time high according to The Block's HOOD price data.The launch of perpetual futures in the EU is expected to be completely rolled out by the end of the summer, Robinhood said. "We will offer eligible customers access to a new class of derivatives with continuous exposure and up to 3x leverage," the company added.Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.© 2025 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.