Sep 21, 2026 · 38 min
Robinhood tests tokenized markets under new SEC rules
How Robinhood is using the SEC's New Innovation Exemption | Johann Kerbrat
The SEC’s five-year innovation exemption could determine whether tokenized securities become a compliant, always-on U.S. market or remain constrained by regulation.
- 1Robinhood sees the SEC exemption as a path to expand compliant tokenized securities in the United States.
- 2Around-the-clock trading could create weekend price discovery and arbitrage between on-chain and traditional markets.
- 3Robinhood plans to broaden tokenization beyond stocks while developing its chain, wallet, and core-app integrations.
Don't miss
Johann Kerbrat lays out how 24/7 stock-token markets could create weekend price discovery and eventually shift global trading toward blockchain venues.
The brief
David Hoffman and Johann Kerbrat examine how the SEC’s new innovation exemption could let Robinhood pursue compliant tokenized securities while navigating different rules worldwide.
Robinhood’s planned stock-token upgrades include voting rights and in-kind redemption, while 24/7 trading could introduce weekend price discovery and arbitrage against traditional venues.
The conversation turns to Robinhood Chain’s early adoption, stablecoins, deposits, transactions, wallets, and unexpectedly strong developer activity—evidence the infrastructure may matter as much as the products.
Kerbrat describes a broader tokenization roadmap spanning private equity, real estate, art, commodities, and metals, alongside wallet upgrades such as gas abstraction and cross-chain bridging.
The central constraint is regulation: perpetuals and a tokenized Robinhood stock remain complicated, even as the company considers bringing more on-chain products into its main app.
What was said on this episode
22 statements · 20 positive · 1 negative · 1 neutral
Federal-level regulation is needed to provide long-term certainty for crypto institutions.
“I think we still need to have this federal level regulation so that things are not constantly changing.”
Listen at 1:16
The SEC exemption makes tokenization ready for the United States.
“I think it really means that tokenization is also ready for the US, not just something that we should keep doing overseas.”
Listen at 1:33
Robinhood can bring many existing tokenization products to the United States.
“we can bring a lot of the products that we've been building for a long time onshore.”
Listen at 1:43
Robinhood intends to adapt products to each country’s regulatory requirements.
“we want to adapt to the regulation of whatever country our products are live to.”
Listen at 3:23
Robinhood stock-token volume exceeded $1.2 billion on one day.
“we had a day with more than 1.2 billion in stock tokens volume.”
Listen at 6:53
Most Robinhood stock-token trading occurs outside traditional exchange hours.
“70% of the trading happen on weekends outside of the exchange hours.”
Listen at 7:05
Tokenization provides continuous trading and broader global access.
“tokenization is bringing something on the table, which is 24-7 trading, instance element, global access.”
Listen at 7:14
Robinhood announced in-kind redemption as a planned stock-token feature.
“the Incarn Redemption, for example, we announced it during our event in London.”
Listen at 8:37
Robinhood considers voting rights an important future stock-token feature.
“Voting rights is also something that is always going to be interesting”
Listen at 9:07
Renewed stock purchases and minting cause token prices to converge with exchange prices.
“when the market opens again, we are able to mint again because we're able to buy the actual stock again. And so therefore the price converge.”
Listen at 12:20
More liquidity pools attract market makers and resolve stock-token pricing divergence.
“the more pools available, the more market makers are going to be interested in the arbitrage opportunities. And therefore, the pricing issue will be solved.”
Listen at 14:06
Global financial markets will eventually consolidate onto blockchain infrastructure.
“I think it's just going to be one market and it's going to be based on blockchain.”
Listen at 15:21
Robinhood Chain is currently among the leading chains for developer activity.
“we've seen the chain being one of the top three, if it's not top one, I think currently, where there is development being done or active there”
Listen at 19:51
Robinhood believes tokenization can apply across many asset classes.
“we think the tokenization framework works for almost everything from private equities.”
Listen at 22:43
Robinhood plans to tokenize its own stock eventually.
“we're working actively on it and at some point we absolutely want Robinhood to be. part of the tokenized system that we have.”
Listen at 24:10
Tokenization’s global expansion can now extend into the United States.
“the train of tokenization that has been going... everywhere and has been taking a lot of people by surprise on how big the movement is can actually also now be in the US”
Listen at 27:39
The SEC innovation exemption lasts five years.
“it's an exemption for five years.”
Listen at 28:00
Robinhood has long pursued integrated spot and perpetual markets.
“we've been in the race for a long time.”
Listen at 30:52
Robinhood will offer perpetuals in its app if regulation permits.
“If we get the right regulatory, structure, we will absolutely have perhaps in one shape or form in the app.”
Listen at 32:08
Robinhood currently has no plan to purchase ETH for its balance sheet.
“We don't have a plan right now to buy ETH and to put it on the balance sheet.”
Listen at 33:15
Ethereum’s decentralization and security motivated Robinhood’s layer-two design.
“one of the reasons we wanted to build an L2 was to be able to rely on the decentralization and the securities that Ethereum has built.”
Listen at 33:50
Robinhood recently launched AI-enabled agentic trading.
“we launched recently agentic trading through AI.”
Listen at 36:14
Statements are attributed to the speaker as said on the episode and reflect their view at the time, not PodLume's. They are not advice.