Igniting the financial revolution! Robinhood's "U.S. stock tokenization trading" sparks the market, and in the future, ordinary investors can also purchase OpenAI?

On June 30, $Robinhood(HOOD.US)$ Unveiling a combination of strategies at the conference in Cannes, France, the new cryptocurrency strategy was announced: tokenized trading of US Stocks, Layer 2 public chains, etc. This news sent Robinhood soaring by 13%, reaching a historic high in stock price.

What did Robinhood announce?

Specifically, Robinhood covers the following seven new optimizations:

First and foremost is the 'tokenized trading of US Stocks':

Robinhood announced that over 200 US-listed stocks and ETFs could be traded tokenized through Arbitrum Layer 2, allowing European users to trade these tokenized stocks as if they were digital currencies. Because Robinhood also introduced an on-chain synchronous settlement mechanism, rights such as dividends and stock splits will automatically update in the accounts of token holders.

Even more surprisingly, Robinhood announced a 'Private Equity Token' plan: starting from July 7, European Robinhood users will be able to apply for the first batch of tokenized equity in SpaceX and OpenAI. Simply put, shares of star companies that individual investors could never purchase before can now be easily owned, just like buying Bitcoin.

Secondly, a more strategic step is that Robinhood is developing its own Layer 2 blockchain:

Robinhood has announced that it is developing its own Layer 2 blockchain specifically for RWA based on Arbitrum, tentatively named Robinhood Chain, with availability depending on applicable regulations and future launch timing.

It will not only support Robinhood's tokenized Stocks trading but also future tokenization of all categories of real assets including Real Estate, Bonds, and artworks.

Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev outlined a three-phase roadmap:

Phase One: Robinhood's US brokerage will purchase and custody Stocks from traditional exchanges, minting 1:1 tokenized equivalents for users.

Phase Two: Integrate Bitstamp and TradFi liquidity for trading during traditional market closures (weekends, holidays).

Phase Three: Unlock self-custody and cross-chain transfers, allowing users to transfer Assets generated by Robinhood to personal wallets or DeFi protocols.

Third, trading of cryptocurrency perpetual contracts:

In addition to tokenized Stocks, Robinhood also announced perpetual Futures for European users, offering continuous exposure and up to 3x leverage, expected to be fully launched for eligible customers by the end of this summer. Trade orders will be cleared through Bitstamp’s perpetual contract trading platform.

Fourth, Cryptos staking services:

Robinhood has launched Cryptos staking services for eligible US users, initially offering Ethereum and Solana. Eligible users can directly participate in network validation through the platform to earn staking rewards. This feature has already been opened to the European market, and the launch in the US marks the company's further layout in the field of crypto infrastructure services.

Fifth, AI investment assistant Cortex:

Robinhood will launch the AI investment assistant Cortex later this year, which will be available to Robinhood Gold users, providing comprehensive analysis integrating market dynamics, large on-chain transfers, token news, and even company Earnings Reports. Cortex aims to help users understand the fundamental reasons for the volatility of digital assets, rather than just providing simple price alerts.

Sixth, the Robinhood Gold credit card will add a "Crypto cashback" feature:

Robinhood allows cardholders to automatically convert cashback from daily spending into selected Cryptos. Robinhood stated that this is an innovation to "break the logic of cash back," aiming to seamlessly link users' daily lives with on-chain asset management.

Seventh, intelligent trading routing and tax optimization functions:

Robinhood has launched a crypto trading tax batch management tool to help US users flexibly choose between different Hold Positions to optimize their tax strategy.

Why has "tokenized trading of US stocks" ignited the entire market?

Tokenization of stocks is a financial technology innovation, with the basic logic being that shares of a company are represented as digital tokens on the blockchain. These tokens not only anchor the stock prices but also substantively reflect the real-world stocks (i.e., entitling holders to dividends, stock splits, etc.), allowing investors to buy and sell stocks as conveniently as trading Cryptos.

In simpler terms, it digitizes traditional stocks, allowing users to trade Apple or Tesla stocks without waiting for the US stock market to open and not being restricted by location; it can all be done with one wallet.

Compared to traditional stock trading, the clear advantages of tokenized trading of US stocks are:

Low investment threshold: After tokenization, investors can "fragmentarily hold" assets, meaning users do not need to buy a whole share of Tesla but can purchase equivalent tokens worth 0.01 shares, making it accessible for everyone (similar to Futu's odd lot feature).

24/7 trading: Unlike the traditional market, which has limited hours, tokenized stocks can be traded anytime, providing a breakout from the traditional US stock market's restriction of trading only during limited pre-market or after-hours sessions (similar to Futu's night trading feature), breaking the time and geographic limitations of traditional markets.

Transparency and security: The immutable nature of blockchain provides greater transparency and security for asset transactions.

Reduced trading costs: Blockchain technology eliminates intermediaries, reducing clearing and settlement costs, thereby enhancing trading efficiency for investors.

Additionally, the most groundbreaking aspect is that Robinhood announced it will launch equity tokenization trading for unlisted companies, with the first batch including OpenAI and SpaceX, but it is currently only open to EU investors.

This has been referred to as the "world's first case" by Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev, emphasizing that it is a "gateway for EU customers to enter the world's most valuable private companies."

Robinhood's Senior Vice President and General Manager of Crypto, Johann Kerbrat, stated at the press conference: "We want to address the inequality of investment opportunities in top companies in traditional finance. Now, everyone can participate, and that's the most exciting part."

However, it is important to note that the "Shareholder rights" risks of token investors can be easily overlooked—namely, that by investing in stocks through tokens, certain shareholder rights must be relinquished. Compared to directly purchasing stocks that enjoy corresponding shareholder rights, token investors do not have voting rights.

Additionally, the crypto circle generally has a loose scale, and in the long term, there may be token contracts, participation in airdrops, and new listings. One more thing to note is that, after the tokenization of U.S. stocks, there may also be derivatives involving the price difference arbitrage between U.S. stocks and tokens, simply put, something similar to AH premium arbitrage.

What do Wall Street institutions think?

After the announcement of the press conference, major Wall Street investment banks and institutional Analysts quickly released their initial comments. Overall, the market views Robinhood's move as a way to diversify the company's revenue sources and enhance long-term growth potential, but it is also important to pay attention to compliance and execution risks.

Former Goldman Sachs executive Raoul Pal praised Robinhood's decision to launch tokenized Stocks on Monday, calling it 'financial democratization.'

KeyBanc raised Robinhood's Target Price from $60 to $110 and maintained its 'Shareholding' rating. Robinhood held its first cryptocurrency user event, showcasing its continued product velocity and the expanding breadth/depth of its products. The company highlighted that the most notable aspect of this event was the launch of tokenized American Stocks for Robinhood's EU users and the expansion of Cryptos trading coverage from both geographical and product perspectives. KeyBanc believes that these announcements and other announcements during the event not only solidified Robinhood's top-notch innovation capabilities but also expanded the company's potential market size (TAM).

Barclays Analysts pointed out that the company announced several new features at its cryptocurrency press conference in France. One feature is the American Stocks token tailored for EU customers, which Barclays described as 'quite attractive.' While many such products were generally anticipated, what truly impressed Barclays was Robinhood's relentless pursuit of user experience, product velocity, and low cost, advantages that were fully demonstrated in Robinhood's reports.

Overall, BCG and Ripple predict that by 2033, the scale of tokenization will reach $18.9 trillion, meaning tokenization will become a strategic direction in the financial sector. This transformation is underway...