Robinhood Launches Its Own Blockchain: Ethereum L2 Built on Arbitrum Now Live on Testnet

Robinhood just entered the blockchain infrastructure game. The $76 billion retail trading giant launched the public testnet for Robinhood Chain on February 11, 2026 — an Ethereum layer-2 network built on Arbitrum and designed specifically for tokenized real-world assets.

This isn’t a surprise announcement. Robinhood first revealed blockchain plans in June 2025 and spent six months in private testing before opening the network to developers. The company has already tokenized nearly 2,000 U.S. stocks and ETFs on Arbitrum, offering European users token versions with dividend payments and extended trading hours.

Now they’re building the rails to scale it.

The Robinhood Chain public testnet is live

Developers can now build on a financial-grade Ethereum Layer 2 built on @arbitrum— designed to support tokenized real-world and digital assets.

Start building with the core foundation of Robinhood Chain: https://t.co/yHCQRh5x3j…

— Robinhood (@RobinhoodApp) February 11, 2026

What Robinhood Chain Does

The network is built for financial-grade applications, not general-purpose blockchain activity. Robinhood designed it around three core capabilities: 24/7 trading, seamless cross-chain bridging, and self-custody through Robinhood Wallet.

Developers get access to network entry points, documentation at docs.chain.robinhood.com, and compatibility with standard Ethereum tooling. Infrastructure partners have already begun early integrations. In the coming months, Robinhood plans to release testnet-only assets including stock tokens, deeper wallet integration, and a familiar development environment for anyone who’s built on Ethereum or Arbitrum.

The target applications tell the story: tokenized asset platforms, decentralized lending markets, and perpetual futures exchanges. All connected directly to Ethereum’s existing DeFi liquidity rather than starting from scratch.

Why Build a Chain?

Johann Kerbrat, Robinhood’s SVP and General Manager of Crypto, explained the rationale at CoinDesk’s Consensus Hong Kong conference: “What we wanted was the security of Ethereum, the liquidity that is available on EVM chains and the Ethereum ecosystem. But we were also wanting to have a way to customize the chain and to make it really optimized for traditional assets being tokenized.”

This isn’t about scaling Ethereum. Kerbrat was direct about that: “For us, it was never really about scaling Ethereum or doing faster transactions.”

The real value is customization. Compliance requirements vary by jurisdiction. Regulated financial products need embedded controls that generic blockchains don’t provide. Robinhood Chain lets them build those features directly into the infrastructure layer.

CEO Vlad Tenev made the case for tokenized equities earlier this year, arguing that blockchain-based real-time settlement could prevent trading freezes — a pointed reference given Robinhood’s past criticism over platform outages during market volatility.

The Exchange-as-Infrastructure Play

Robinhood joins a growing trend of major exchanges building their own blockchain infrastructure. Coinbase operates Base, its Ethereum L2, and announced tokenized equities in December 2025. Kraken is developing Ink, an Optimism-based L2, alongside its xStocks tokenized equity offering.

The pattern is clear: exchanges are moving to control both the user interface and the underlying rails. Whoever owns the infrastructure captures the tokenization wave.

Robinhood’s current tokenized equity holdings sit at roughly $15 million in total value according to Entropy Advisors data on Dune Analytics — still trailing competitors like xStocks and Ondo Global Markets. The chain launch signals intent to close that gap by providing purpose-built infrastructure that attracts both developers and liquidity.

What’s Next

The mainnet launch is planned for later in 2026. Between now and then, Robinhood will expand testnet functionality, add stock token testing, and build out integrations with its wallet and broader onchain financial tooling.

Vitalik Buterin recently argued that some rollups may need different decentralization trade-offs when compliance or real-world assets are involved. Kerbrat said that view doesn’t change Robinhood’s approach: “We’ve always been building with the idea that there are different compliance requirements based on the jurisdiction, and all these things can be embedded into the chain.”

Tokenized equities are coming to blockchain infrastructure whether legacy finance is ready or not. Robinhood just bet its own chain on being the place where it happens.

*Disclaimer: News content provided by Genfinity is intended solely for informational purposes. While we strive to deliver accurate and up-to-date information, we do not offer financial or legal advice of any kind. Readers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with qualified professionals before making any financial or legal decisions. Genfinity disclaims any responsibility for actions taken based on the information presented in our articles. Our commitment is to share knowledge, foster discussion, and contribute to a better understanding of the topics covered in our articles. We advise our readers to exercise caution and diligence when seeking information or making decisions based on the content we provide.

The post Robinhood Launches Its Own Blockchain: Ethereum L2 Built on Arbitrum Now Live on Testnet appeared first on Genfinity – Web3 Education & News.