The thing that most non-crypto people struggle with is the speed at which the crypto world moves.
You can launch a token in a day. You can scale a blockchain in weeks. You can completely redefine global capital systems in a matter of years.
And we’re currently witness to that moment in history where everything changes.
I’ve been covering it here with you at The Crypto Alarm, and it’s this ongoing theme of the DeFi takeover of TradFi.
Yesterday, that takeover just took a gigantic leap forward and trillions in capital is about to benefit.
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Credit to the team at Robinhood, particularly founder and CEO Vlad Tenev. Only a few short years ago they were hated as the worst of TradFi when they shut down trading in GameStop during the ‘meme stonk’ craze of 2021.
Today, they’re the pied pipers of the crypto revolution. From launching Robinhood Crypto on their platform, they’re now going where no regulated financial institution has gone before… tokenized stocks.
Robinhood just announced it’s launching what they call ‘stock tokens’ to European users. This launch is not something that’s coming later on, it’s live, now.
In the U.S. it’s fair to be asking ‘what about us?’, but I don’t expect that to last long.
The only reason America’s not first is because Europe’s already laid out the regulatory carpet. Over there, MiCA provides the kind of crypto clarity that the U.S. is only now getting into place.
Be patient, it’s coming.
So, what are ‘stock tokens’?
According to Robinhood, these stock tokens are a ‘tokenized contract that follow [the stock] price, recorded on a blockchain’[1].
But what’s really interesting here is their big launch in Cannes, France wasn’t about tokenized Apple or Amazon. They were launching private company stock tokens, notably, claims to stock tokens for OpenAI and SpaceX[2].
That’s right, you can buy stock tokens for both of these companies on Robinhood (in Europe for now). No where else can any regular investor get a look at these companies.
Furthermore, the stock tokens will be tradeable Monday at 02:00 CET/CEST until Saturday at 02:00 CET/CEST.
It’s TradFi meeting DeFi. And they’re meeting on Robinhood.
Now, technically these aren’t exact claims on stock. But it’s a very good start.
This move from Robinhood is another chapter in this fast-moving takeover of TradFi by DeFi systems and platforms. This is the story which unfolds where stablecoins are the new cash, tokenized equities are the new stocks, and DeFi protocols, blockchains and layer-2 connectivity become the plumbing of modern finance.
The Future is Programmable
Robinhood’s stock tokens are just the beginning. Think about what this means if you then combine U.S.-backed stablecoins with tokenized equity markets operating 24/7 without borders.
A world where you can buy SpaceX stock at 3AM in Croatia with tokenized USDC. Or send your kid who lives four states over $1000 of Anduril Industries stock for their birthday.
The question now is who’s going to follow suit?
I expect Coinbase, with its eyes already on tokenized equities. BlackRock, with Larry Fink evangelising the tokenized asset revolution as the next big movers in this space.
It’s amazing how quick this is all moving. And how quick Robinhood has turned it around.
You may not love Robinhood. But you should love what this means for crypto and for the world’s investment markets.
Welcome to the age where OpenAI and SpaceX are now crypto.
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