The Big Reveal in Cannes
At their spectacular "To Catch a Token" presentation in Cannes, France, Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev didn't just announce new products—he unveiled a vision for the future of finance. But before diving into the headline-grabbing private company tokens, Robinhood first made a fundamental shift that transforms their European operations entirely.
Bringing Wall Street to Europe: The Foundation
The most significant announcement was Robinhood's expansion of US stock and ETF access to over 400 million people across 30 EU and EEA countries. European customers now have access to 200+ US stock and ETF tokens, including giants like Apple, Microsoft, and NVIDIA—all with zero commissions or added spreads from Robinhood.
This move intensifies competition in the European brokerage space, where platforms like Neobanque offer US stock trading with transparent pricing (Just a 0.1% currency conversion fee covers everything. No hidden fees, ever. Risks and limitations apply.). Robinhood's zero-commission tokenized approach represents a fundamentally different strategy that could reshape the competitive landscape.
This isn't just another brokerage expansion. By tokenizing these traditional securities, Robinhood has created something unprecedented: 24/5 trading access to US markets for European investors, complete with dividend payments delivered directly to their app.
"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 announced. This foundation sets the stage for everything else—because once you've tokenized traditional markets, private companies are the natural next step.
The Private Company Revolution
Building on this tokenized infrastructure, Robinhood then launched tokenized shares of OpenAI and SpaceX to European users, marking the first time Robinhood has tokenized private companies, enabled by the EU's looser investor restrictions.
This progression is strategic genius: start with familiar, regulated assets that investors understand, then expand into the exclusive realm of private equity that was previously reserved for ultra-wealthy investors and insiders.
Revolutionary Access to Private Giants
The OpenAI and SpaceX Breakthrough
To mark the launch, Robinhood is giving 5 euros worth of OpenAI and SpaceX tokens to every eligible user in the European Union who onboards to trade stock tokens by July 7. The company has allocated $1 million worth of OpenAI and $500,000 worth of SpaceX for the campaign.
Think about this for a moment: OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT that's revolutionizing artificial intelligence, and SpaceX, Elon Musk's space exploration giant—both companies that will define humanity's future—are now accessible to everyday investors through tokenization.
"We wanted to make sure we were giving access," said Johann Kerbrat, senior vice president and general manager of crypto at Robinhood. "What we discussed on stage was how to address the inequality between people who have historically had access to these kinds of companies and everyone else. That's the really exciting part: Now everyone will be able to get it."
Turns out the OpenAI stock token transaction did indeed succeed! 🙌https://t.co/aOIN4Aug1c
— Vlad Tenev (@vladtenev) June 30, 2025
Beyond the Big Names
The ambition doesn't stop with OpenAI and SpaceX. The company will also expand the number of available stock tokens to "thousands" by the end of the year, Tenev said at the event. This means we're looking at potential access to a vast ecosystem of private companies that could include other AI darlings, biotech innovators, and emerging technology leaders.
The Technology Behind the Revolution
Robinhood's New Blockchain Infrastructure
Stock tokens will initially be issued on Arbitrum. In the future, tokenized stocks will be facilitated by our very own Robinhood Layer 2 blockchain, based on Arbitrum. Currently in development, the Robinhood blockchain will be optimized for tokenized real-world assets and built to support 24/7 trading, seamless bridging, and self-custody.
This Layer 2 blockchain represents Robinhood's serious commitment to becoming more than just a brokerage—they're building the infrastructure for the future of finance. With 24/7 trading capabilities and optimized real-world asset tokenization, they're creating a parallel to what Coinbase has achieved with Base.
Comprehensive Product Expansion
The Cannes presentation revealed a complete ecosystem overhaul:
For European Users:
- Over 200 tokenized US stocks and ETFs with zero commissions
- Crypto perpetual futures with up to 3x leverage
- 24/5 trading access with plans for 24/7
For US Users:
- Crypto staking for Ethereum and Solana (previously blocked by the SEC)
- Advanced charts from Robinhood Legend
- Tax lot management for strategic crypto trading
- Smart exchange routing for optimal pricing
The Coinbase Battle: A Head-to-Head Showdown
Racing to Tokenize Everything
The competition between Robinhood and Coinbase has intensified dramatically. As detailed in this comprehensive analysis, both companies are racing to bring traditional assets on-chain, but they're taking different approaches.
Robinhood's letter to the SEC, submitted in early 2025, represents a strategic pivot toward embracing blockchain technology for traditional securities. The proposal outlines several key benefits of tokenization: Enhanced Transaction Settlement: Nearly instantaneous settlement compared to traditional T+2 cycles, Improved Price Discovery: 24/7/365 trading capabilities allowing for continuous market access, Smart Contract Programmability: Automated enforcement of regulatory requirements and corporate actions.
Meanwhile, Coinbase has already made significant strides toward tokenizing traditional assets: Acquired regulatory licenses across multiple jurisdictions, Established the Coinbase International Exchange with a focus on tokenized assets, Developed the Base blockchain specifically designed for institutional-grade services, Created regulatory frameworks in collaboration with international regulators.
The Blockchain Network Competition
Just as Coinbase launched Base as a cost-effective Layer 2 solution on Ethereum, Robinhood is developing its own Layer 2 solution. This isn't just about technical capabilities—it's about control, revenue, and the future of decentralized finance. Coinbase is also heavily investing in Base, which will allow it to capture DeFi opportunities. However, there is more to that than just trading revenue.
Financial Performance Gap
The numbers tell an interesting story. In 2024, Robinhood generated $626 million in crypto trading revenue (up 363% YoY), which compares to $3.43 billion in retail trading revenue for Coinbase (up 157% YoY). While Coinbase currently dominates in volume, Robinhood's growth rate suggests they're catching up fast.
The Credit Card Chess Move
Catching Up in the Rewards Game
Robinhood's Gold Card offers 3% cash back on all categories, exclusively for Robinhood Gold members. But here's the strategic genius: Coming this fall, customers can use those rewards to purchase crypto automatically.
This feature directly addresses one of the key advantages that crypto-native platforms have maintained. By enabling automatic crypto purchases with credit card rewards, Robinhood is creating a seamless bridge between traditional spending and crypto investment.
To make up for the $50 Robinhood Gold membership fee, you need to spend at least $5,000 per year on the Robinhood Gold card to break even. For many users, this threshold is easily achievable, especially considering the card's competitive 3% reward rate across all categories.
The Regulatory Advantage
Why Europe First?
This marks the first time Robinhood has tokenized private companies — a milestone made possible, in part, by the EU's more flexible regulatory environment. "There are no accredited investor rules here in the EU, so anyone who qualifies to trade stock tokens is able to access them," Kerbrat said.
The strategic decision to launch in Europe first isn't just about regulatory convenience—it's about proving the model works. Although the EU rollout is underway, Robinhood said U.S. users shouldn't expect access anytime soon. Regulatory hurdles — particularly accredited investor restrictions — remain a major barrier to bringing tokenized private equity to the U.S. market.
The Broader Implications
Democratizing Private Markets
What Robinhood is doing goes beyond just offering new investment products. They're fundamentally challenging the traditional gatekeeping mechanisms that have kept retail investors out of the most promising private companies.
"It's crazy to me that you can't invest in companies like SpaceX and OpenAI," Tenev has said. "If you tokenize private companies, it'll be good for the companies and also for investors."
The Infrastructure Play
The Robinhood blockchain will be optimized for tokenized real-world assets and built to support 24/7 trading, seamless bridging, and self-custody. This isn't just about competing with existing crypto exchanges—it's about building the rails for a new financial system.
What This Means for Investors
The Long-Term Vision
Robinhood is betting that the future of finance is tokenized, global, and accessible 24/7. Their "To Catch a Token" presentation wasn't just a product launch—it was a declaration of intent to become the infrastructure layer for democratized finance.
The company is systematically building an ecosystem where:
- Private company shares are tokenized and globally accessible
- Credit card rewards automatically flow into crypto investments
- Traditional and digital assets trade on the same infrastructure
- Geographic barriers to investment opportunities are eliminated
Competitive Positioning
While Coinbase has the first-mover advantage in crypto infrastructure, Robinhood brings something equally valuable: a massive retail user base already comfortable with stock trading. Nearly half of Robinhood's brokerage clients also trade crypto (12 million out of 25 million).
The Road Ahead: A New Financial Paradigm
The "To Catch a Token" presentation marks a pivotal moment in the evolution of retail investing. Robinhood has positioned itself not just as a competitor to Coinbase, but as a potential architect of the future financial system.
With tokenized private companies, their own blockchain network, and a credit card that seamlessly bridges traditional spending with crypto investment, Robinhood is building something unprecedented: a truly unified financial platform for the digital age.
The race between Robinhood and Coinbase isn't just about market share—it's about who will define how the next generation invests, trades, and thinks about money. Based on what we saw in Cannes, that race just got a lot more interesting.
As the financial world rapidly evolves toward tokenization and blockchain-based infrastructure, both Robinhood and Coinbase are positioning themselves as the gateway for mainstream adoption. The winner of this competition may well determine the structure of finance for decades to come.