CEO of Robinhood Markets Inc, Vlad Tenev, believes that tokenization will be a driving force behind a massive transformation of the financial system. He made this statement during the Token2049 conference in Singapore, emphasizing the potential of digital assets to fundamentally change the financial services market.
This is reported by Finway
Tokenization as a Market Growth Driver
“Tokenization is a freight train that will engulf the entire financial system,” he said.
According to Tenev, the gradual digitization of assets—from stocks to real estate—could increase the total market volume from the current “below one percent of trillions” to “tens of trillions of dollars.” He estimates that particularly large-scale adoption of tokenization will occur outside the United States, as public and private assets transition to crypto technologies.
Tenev emphasizes that tokenization has the potential to make investments more accessible, democratize access to previously illiquid assets, and reduce commission costs for users.
Robinhood’s Strategy and New Development Directions
In June 2025, Robinhood launched its own L2 network based on Arbitrum, specifically created for trading tokenized assets. However, this initiative has faced criticism, including from the company’s main European regulator. Additionally, OpenAI stated that it did not grant permission for the distribution of securities associated with its brand.
Despite the remarks, Vlad Tenev confirmed that Robinhood is not stepping back from scaling tokenized stocks and plans further integration into DeFi platforms.
One of the new directions for the company has been prediction markets. According to Tenev, Robinhood is considering the development of event contracts in international markets, which will attract a new audience and diversify the business.
“This is a somewhat different animal that has the potential to disrupt each of these major industries,” he explained, referring to the intersection with media, the gaming industry, and active trading.
In addition, Robinhood continues to strengthen its presence in traditional financial markets. In September 2025, the company was included in the S&P 500—America’s leading stock index—beginning trading in the new composition on September 22.