Cannes, France – Robin Hood Stocks rose nearly 13% on Monday after the stock rolled out tokenized Openai and SpaceX shares to European users as part of a massive crypto rollout.
This is the company’s first move to make private equity accessible on the blockchain.
The announcement made Monday at the company’s product showcase in Cannes is part of a broader push to expand Robin Hood’s crypto footprint globally. Tokenized assets will only be available through Robinhood’s EU Crypto app. The app will have over 200 tokenized stocks and ETFs 24 hours a day, five days a week, no fees or spread.
To celebrate the launch, Robinhood is offering Openai and SpaceX tokens worth 5 Euros to all eligible users who post a message board to trade stock tokens by July 7th.
Neither company is public and their access to capital has historically been limited to insiders and ultra-rich investors, so Openai and SpaceX stand out.
“We wanted to make sure we provide access,” said Johann Carblatt, senior vice president and general manager of Crypto at Robinhood. “What we discussed on stage was how we dealt with the inequality between people who historically had access to these kinds of businesses and everyone else. That’s a really exciting part. Now everyone can get it.”
“The goal of tokenization is to ensure that anyone can participate in this economy,” he added.
This was when Robinhood first turned private companies into tokens. This has been made possible in part by the more flexible regulatory environment in the EU.
“There are no certified investors rules here in the EU, so anyone who is entitled to trade stock tokens can access them,” Kerbrat said.
While the EU deployment is ongoing, Robinhood said US users shouldn’t expect immediate access.
Regulatory hurdles (particularly those restricted by certified investors) continue to be a major barrier to bringing tokenized private equity to the US market. CEO Vlad Tenev has publicly called for changes, claiming that blockchain could unlock wider participation in the private market.
Tokenized stocks are distributed to user accounts via Robinhood’s Custody Wallet. This is part of a broader infrastructure push, including the company’s new Layer 2 blockchain built on Arbitrum, which was announced on the same day.
And while American users still don’t have access to private companies’ tokenized stocks, they’re gaining access to crypto staking.
Robin Hood also began staking Ethereum and Solana in the US. This is a feature previously blocked by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The move marks a new push to reintroduce crypto products, including harvests, into the domestic market.
