Robinhood deepens crypto push as prediction markets gain speed

Robinhood is building more of its own crypto stack, a move that could matter for tokenized assets even as prediction markets start to rival crypto as a revenue driver for the company.

On July 1, the brokerage launched Robinhood Chain, an Ethereum layer-2 network built on Arbitrum. The chain is meant to support tokenized real-world assets, DeFi apps and trading tied to Robinhood products. Robinhood also said Stock Tokens are now available through Robinhood Wallet in more than 120 countries, with eligibility varying by region. The company plans to let eligible users trade tokenized equities around the clock and use them in DeFi, including lending and collateral.

Robinhood also introduced Robinhood Earn for eligible US users, letting them lend USDG through a self-custody wallet. The product offers an estimated 7% APY and uses Morpho infrastructure, with insurance arranged through Lloyd's of London and RELM for certain cyber and smart contract losses.

The bigger business surprise may come from event contracts. Artemis estimated about 12.3 billion contracts traded through June 25, which at a 1 cent take rate implies at least $123 million in quarterly revenue. That is close to Robinhood's first-quarter crypto transaction revenue of $134 million, suggesting investors may need to view the company as more than a retail crypto proxy.