In a Bloomberg TV interview, Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev said he believes “tokenization is a freight train” that “will eat the entire financial system.” In July Robinhood launched tokenized US listed stocks in the European market, and demonstrated tokenized access to private stocks such as OpenAI and SpaceX. OpenAI objected to this offering.
Following the launch, Robinhood was contacted by market makers and institutions that were keen to get involved. Tenev believes that markets outside the US will lead the way because there’s a “little less legacy infrastructure”. That’s despite a very crypto and tokenization friendly SEC and administration.
Asked about Nasdaq’s recent announcement of plans to tokenize all its listed stocks, Tenev said he expects it to be a late adopter. He acknowledged the stock exchange’s competence but believes Nasdaq’s counterparties and members could be somewhat slow. The exchange will only be able to move as fast as its existing customers. “I think they will get there eventually but they are not at the frontier,” he said.
Article continues …
Want the full story? Pro subscribers get complete articles, exclusive industry analysis, and early access to legislative updates that keep you ahead of the competition. Join the professionals who are choosing deeper insights over surface level news.
