🤔 Why Is Robinhood Building on Arbitrum Instead of Solana?
Robinhood is making its biggest bet on crypto yet, announcing on Monday that it’s developing an Ethereum layer-2 scaling network for trading digital representations of assets like stocks, while similar products exist already on competing networks like Solana.
For Johann Kerbrat, Robinhood's crypto general manager, the existence of multiple projects is frustrating. Tokenization becomes less beneficial when a digital version of the same stock is issued across multiple networks beneficial because activity is siloed across ecosystems.
“I hate the idea of having a Tesla-Kraken token and a Tesla-Robinhood token,” he said. “Instead of actually moving forward and creating a better financial system, we’re splitting [up] liquidity.”
Robinhood’s initiative highlights stark differences between major crypto trading platforms as they use tokenization to break from traditional methods of record keeping and create more efficient systems for investors.
In developing its own Ethereum-compatible network, based on Arbitrum’s design, Kerbrat said that Robinhood is trying to cast as large a net as possible, as it looks to expand on tokenized assets and connect with other entities within the cryptosphere.
“We’re launching [tokenized stocks and ETFs] first in the EU, but in the future, [we] want to open it up as soon as we get clarity on regulations,” he said. “We want the maximum participation there. We want to be compatible with other players.”
But crypto exchanges Kraken and Bybit have rolled out tokenized stock trading through Backed Finance’s xStocks. The assets, which trade on Solana, underscore how companies are leveraging competing networks and standards in trying to give the financial system a facelift.
“It’s interesting to see that they decided to not use that chain,” he said. “Some companies are about launching as many things as possible to get as many headlines as possible.