On Monday, Robinhood (HOOD.O), opens a new tab, announced the launch of tokens that would enable its customers in the European Union to trade over 200 U.S. equities and exchange-traded funds, such as Microsoft (MSFT.O), Apple (AAPL.O), and Nvidia (NVDA.O).
Five days a week, the commission-free tokens are available for trading at any time. The trading platform’s top executives announced during its keynote event in France that Robinhood also intends to provide tokens tied to equities of privately owned firms, beginning with Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Sam Altman’s OpenAI.
Robinhood’s stock surged nearly 10% and reached a record high. Through a collaboration with the blockchain company Arbitrum, the tokens will be distributed. In addition to opening a new tab in the U.S. stock market, which is home to some of the most significant tech companies in the world and the primary beneficiaries of the AI boom, the move positions the company to benefit from growing international interest.
Due to their improved accessibility, flexible trading hours, and reduced expenses, tokenized stocks—which combine traditional finance with cryptocurrency-like trading—have been gaining popularity among foreign investors.
Although there is currently a lack of regulatory certainty about such tokens in the United States, experts believe they have the potential to significantly change the securities investment landscape.
Robinhood, a Menlo Park, California-based company, intends to create its own blockchain in the future, which will extend token trading hours from the present 24/5 to 24/7. Tenev stated at the event that the company plans to increase the quantity of stock tokens available to “thousands” by the end of the year.
“Tokenization is going to open the door to a massive trading revolution,” he stated.
Additionally, Kraken, a cryptocurrency exchange, introduced equity-linked tokens for investors outside of the United States last month.
