Robinhood’s new tokenized stock platform in the European Union has quickly gained momentum, attracting significant interest from private companies looking to make their shares accessible to retail investors via blockchain technology.
The surge in inquiries follows the launch of the platform last week.
CEO Vlad Tenev revealed in a Tuesday interview that Robinhood has received numerous requests from firms eager to tokenize their equity.
“Since our announcement, I’ve had a deluge of inquiries, private companies that actually want to access retail to have their shares tokenized and be a part of this revolution,” Tenev told Bloomberg.
Platform Offers Access to Over 200 U.S. Equities
The platform, currently restricted to EU users, enables trading of over 200 tokenized U.S. equities five days a week.
It also includes promotional, non-tradable tokens representing major private firms like SpaceX and OpenAI.
Robinhood aims to onboard thousands of private companies in the future.
Tenev emphasized the platform’s long-term goal of democratizing access to private equity.
“We believe [this] is a huge opportunity to resolve one of the biggest inequities in capital markets, which is the fact that you have these massive companies that are staying private longer,” he said.
Regulatory Scrutiny from EU Authorities
Despite the enthusiasm, Robinhood’s new offering has drawn attention from regulators.
The Bank of Lithuania, which oversees Robinhood in the EU, has requested more details regarding how the tokens are structured.
Tenev welcomed the scrutiny, describing it as expected for such an innovative product.
“They want to make sure that everything is proper because it’s a new innovative offering. We’re confident. We think that these are not only important, but they’ll withstand the highest form of scrutiny,” he said.
Under current EU rules, the tokens are classified as derivatives based on MiCA and MiFID regulatory frameworks.
The underlying assets are held by U.S.-based brokers, with tokens minted or burned in accordance with buy and sell orders.
Plans for U.S. and U.K. Expansion Underway
Tenev confirmed that Robinhood is in discussions with regulators in the U.S. and U.K., although the tokenized platform has not yet launched in those markets.
He believes the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has the power to approve tokenization under existing laws.
“The US shouldn’t be far behind. The opportunity is too large to ignore. Not just for retail but also institutional,” Tenev said.
He added that Robinhood has participated in SEC tokenization roundtables and expects further progress.
Tokenization Momentum Builds Across Markets
Robinhood’s move aligns with broader momentum toward tokenizing real-world assets.
On Tuesday, BioSig Technologies announced a deal to raise up to $1.1 billion to fund a project aimed at tokenizing the commodities market.
The deal involves $100 million in secured convertible debentures and a $1 billion equity credit line.
Meanwhile, in the Middle East, the QCD Money Market Fund (QCDT)—a joint venture between DMZ Finance and QNB—secured approval from the Dubai Financial Services Authority.
This marks the first tokenized money market fund established in the Dubai International Financial Centre.
As traditional markets explore onchain integration, Robinhood’s platform is positioning itself at the center of this transition.