Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev revealed plans on Monday to bring tokenized equity offerings to the European market, starting with shares in private tech giants OpenAI and SpaceX.
The announcement came during a public event in Cannes, France, where Tenev showcased what he claimed were functional stock tokens tied to the two companies.
According to Tenev, European users who download the Robinhood app will soon be able to claim tokenized shares representing ownership in firms that are not yet publicly traded. The offering, expected to roll out within the next week, aims to democratize access to private market assets—something typically reserved for institutional investors or high-net-worth individuals.
In a symbolic move, Tenev transferred $1 million worth of tokenized OpenAI shares to Robinhood Europe, which will distribute the assets to eligible users in the near future.
“Turns out the OpenAI stock token transaction did indeed succeed,” Tenev confirmed in a follow-up post on X.
Beyond the high-profile tokens, Robinhood plans to offer over 200 tokenized versions of publicly traded U.S. stocks to European customers. This effort is part of a broader expansion strategy that also includes staking services and perpetual crypto trading for users in the United States.
The tokenized stocks will be backed 1:1 with real shares and are expected to be tradable around the clock, offering new liquidity and accessibility to investors globally.
The announcement marks a major step for Robinhood as it looks to expand beyond its core U.S. retail base and into a more global, blockchain-driven trading environment. By merging traditional equities with blockchain infrastructure, Robinhood is positioning itself at the intersection of fintech and decentralized finance.
Tenev’s bet on tokenized securities could signal a wider shift in how investors access both private and public markets—especially as demand grows for fractional, 24/7, and borderless trading options.
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