Robinhood (HOOD) Stock Rises 5% After Blockchain Mainnet Launch

TLDR

• Robinhood launched Robinhood Chain, a Layer-2 blockchain built on Arbitrum, moving its public mainnet live after testing began in February.
• Tokenized stock trading is now available through Robinhood Wallet in over 120 countries.
• A new DeFi product, Robinhood Earn, lets users lend USDG stablecoin at an estimated 7% annual yield.
• Robinhood plans to launch crypto trading in the UK and has expanded into Canada via its WonderFi acquisition.
• HOOD stock was up 5% on the day but remains about 30% below its October record high.

Robinhood (HOOD) made a big product push on Wednesday, launching its public blockchain and rolling out a string of new crypto and DeFi features. HOOD stock closed up around 5% on the day, though the stock is still roughly 30% off its October record high.

Robinhood Markets, Inc., HOOD

The company officially launched Robinhood Chain, a Layer-2 (L2) blockchain built on Arbitrum (ARB). Testing had started back in February, so Wednesday’s mainnet launch marks the end of a roughly four-month development cycle. The blockchain is described by the company as “AI-native and purpose-built for real-world assets.”

With the mainnet now live, Robinhood’s tokenized stock products are fully available. Users in more than 120 countries can access Stock Tokens through the Robinhood Wallet app, though availability varies by country. The idea is to let users trade tokenized equities around the clock and use them in DeFi apps — including as collateral or in lending protocols.

CEO Vlad Tenev has previously called tokenized stocks “inevitable,” arguing they could help avoid the kind of trading freezes that can hit traditional exchanges.

Robinhood Earn and New DeFi Tools

Robinhood also introduced Robinhood Earn, a decentralized lending product. It allows users to lend USDG, the company’s dollar-backed stablecoin, through a self-custody wallet at an estimated annual yield of 7%. That’s a relatively competitive rate in the current stablecoin lending market.

The company also unveiled Agentic Accounts, an AI-powered trading tool for eligible U.S. users. It allows users to connect AI models to Robinhood’s trading infrastructure while keeping control over their own capital and trade parameters.

All of this was announced at an event held in London, which ties into Robinhood’s broader international expansion plans. The company said crypto trading in the UK is coming soon, and its services are now live in Canada following its acquisition of WonderFi. In Europe, Robinhood is expanding perpetual futures trading to cover commodities, ETFs, and foreign exchange markets.

Context: Layoffs and Falling Crypto Revenue

The product announcements come just weeks after Robinhood said it would cut 10% of its workforce — around 290 employees — as part of a restructuring effort. The company is expected to report its Q2 2026 results on July 29.

In its most recent earnings report in April, Robinhood disclosed that crypto transaction revenue dropped nearly 50% year-on-year, falling from $252 million to $134 million. That decline is part of the backdrop against which Wednesday’s blockchain expansion is taking place.

Robinhood is entering a competitive L2 market. Base, the Coinbase-backed blockchain, is currently the second-largest L2 network by total value secured at around $11 billion. Base itself had two outages in June caused by a sequencer bug, highlighting the operational challenges in the space.

HOOD stock was up around 5% on Wednesday and remains approximately 30% below its October record.

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