Robinhood Chain DEX Arcus launches pTokens to turn perp accounts into transferable ERC-20s

Arcus, a decentralized exchange built by the team behind dYdX in partnership with Robinhood Crypto, has launched the pToken protocol on Robinhood Chain, enabling traders to tokenize managed perpetual accounts into ERC-20 tokens that can move across lending markets and other onchain protocols.In a statement shared with The Block, Arcus said the leveraged, exchange-traded fund-style contracts allow investors to amplify their exposure as institutions increasingly look to make tokenized assets productive.Each pToken represents a pro-rata ownership stake in an underlying Arcus perpetuals account at a fixed market and leverage level, converting the exposure into a simple, transferable ERC-20 asset, the team explained. Traders can buy and sell pTokens like other spot assets while accessing leveraged exposure without directly managing a perpetuals account, collateral, or margin.Arcus said the launch expands access to digital assets including BTC, SOL, and HYPE, such as pBTC and pBTC3x, offering 1x and 3x long and short BTC exposure. It also includes leveraged Stock Tokens, such as pHOOD3x, offering 3x long (HOOD) exposure."Traditional markets have spent decades making sophisticated investment strategies easier to access through products like leveraged ETFs. We believe the next step is making those strategies native to blockchain infrastructure," Arcus founder and CEO Eddie Zhang said. "With pTokens, we're transforming managed perpetuals accounts into transferable onchain assets, creating a new way for traders to access leveraged exposure while expanding what's possible for tokenized markets."Robinhood Chain's rising activityRobinhood Chain, an Ethereum Layer 2 built using Arbitrum's technology stack, went live on public mainnet on July 1 with support for tokenized stocks, decentralized lending, and perpetual futures.The chain has since generated over $600 million in total value locked and more than $26 billion in cumulative DEX volume, according to The Block's data dashboard.Arcus said it has reached more than $2 billion in trading volume, with average daily volume surpassing $100 million. It also claims more than 85,000 users have joined its perpetuals waitlist.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.© 2026 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.