Vladimir Tenev, the co-founder and CEO of Robinhood, recently articulated a compelling vision for the future of finance. His core argument, delivered during a fireside chat, centers on the idea that cryptocurrency infrastructure, or “crypto rails,” will become the foundational layer not only for digital assets but also for traditional financial instruments like stocks.
Tenev highlighted blockchain technology’s transformative potential, emphasizing its inherent advantages of being available around the clock and offering significant cost efficiencies. This perspective is particularly relevant as Robinhood, synonymous with commission-free trading, navigates the evolving landscape of U.S. financial regulations and technological advancements.
“There’s no reason why you should be able to invest in a meme coin freely as much as you want, but SpaceX and OpenAI are too risky,”
He advocated for applying crypto’s infrastructure to less volatile, more productive assets. Blockchain’s constant operation, facilitated by decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, could simplify 24/7 stock trading—a feature Robinhood already offers for over 1,000 stocks. Tenev pointed to the engineering challenges of integrating market centers to offer seamless, noncustodial trading.
“Crypto by its nature is 24/7. It’s running on blockchain technology that doesn’t close on weekends,” Tenev said, discussing the existing limitations to merging crypto with traditional assets due to regulatory hurdles in the U.S.
“It has been a little bit of an unfair criticism of the crypto industry because the problem is we have not been allowed in the U.S. up until now to connect crypto to real-world productive assets because that’s where the security laws have come in,” he stated.
Despite regulatory limitations, Tenev sees a significant opportunity for companies like Robinhood. He suggested that a team of just two or three skilled engineers, leveraging DeFi tools, could easily construct a platform to offer stocks and other assets on noncustodial wallets. This presents both a competitive challenge and a major opportunity for Robinhood.
During an Investor Day discussion, Tenev’s remarks echoed the current administration’s strategic embrace of crypto and artificial intelligence. He plans to attend the White House Crypto Summit to discuss the role of the U.S. in the domain. His vision goes beyond the speculative aspect of cryptocurrencies. He supports using its infrastructure to back securities, commodities, and other real-world assets. Tenev sees Robinhood’s potential leadership in this transformation.
“I think we’ll have to fix that. And I think there’s huge advantages in crypto technology being the underlying infrastructure behind all types of assets, securities, commodities, other real-world assets,” he said.
