Podcast Summary

Bankless – "Robinhood Chain Takes on NYSE/Nasdaq: Robinhood Crypto GM Johann Kerbrat"

Date: February 11, 2026
Guest: Johann Kerbrat, GM of Crypto at Robinhood
Host: Bankless

Episode Overview

This episode explores Robinhood's latest foray into the blockchain ecosystem with the launch of the Robinhood Chain testnet, positioning itself as a challenger to traditional financial giants like NASDAQ and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Johann Kerbrat, Robinhood Crypto’s General Manager, discusses the company’s open approach to building a permissionless Ethereum Layer 2 chain, their vision for tokenized stocks, product strategies, regulatory issues (including the Clarity Act), and Robinhood’s recent strategic investments in Talos and Lighter. The conversation also addresses liquidity in tokenized assets, the strategic direction of Robinhood Wallet, and predictions for the future of on-chain finance.

Key Discussion Points & Segments

1. Robinhood Chain Testnet Launch

• [03:44–05:26]
  • Announcement: Public testnet for Robinhood Chain is live.
  • Purpose: To let developers and users experiment, test, and build financial applications, advancing openness over a siloed backend ledger.
  • Quote:

    "Really the goal of this public testnet is to allow blockchain developer and user to start testing and evaluate the network...experiment, develop applications, get them certified by Robinhood." – Johann Kerbrat (04:47)

  • Openness: Unlike competitors, Robinhood is prioritizing an open, permissionless Layer 2 on Ethereum, leveraging Arbitrum.

2. Design Philosophy: Open Financial Ecosystem

• [05:26–07:12], [09:22–10:24]
  • Approach: Robinhood positions itself as both a user and a platform provider, encouraging other institutions to use the chain.
  • Differentiation:
    • Unlike the NASDAQ and NYSE, Robinhood is not just upgrading its back office but inviting public, permissionless innovation.
    • Focus is on tokenized stocks, real-world assets, and financial instruments, not meme coins or launchpads.
  • Quote:

    "All the systems that we've been building for years at Robinhood, a lot of other companies, a lot of other institutions can use them. And so it doesn't really make a lot of sense to just build in our little corner." – Johann Kerbrat (05:59)

3. Developer Certification & Ecosystem Integration

• [10:24–12:25]
  • Certification: Not every app will be “certified” by Robinhood, but those that are may gain greater integration in Robinhood's distribution channels.
  • Compliance: Certified apps must meet customer protection and regulatory requirements, but the chain remains permissionless.
  • Quote:

    "If we wanted to kind of approve an app on our side...permission must change. So anyone can build anything on it." – Johann Kerbrat (10:33)

4. Timeline Toward Mainnet

• [12:25–13:08]
  • Next Steps: Robinhood is prioritizing developer feedback and hackathons before launching mainnet, with no hard deadline set.
  • Community Involvement: Encourages developers to experiment and participate in hackathons.

5. Key Strategic Positioning: Competing with NASDAQ & NYSE

• [13:08–15:59]
  • Comparison: NYSE and NASDAQ are experimenting with blockchain in limited or private ways; Robinhood is opting for open, public infrastructure.
  • Bigger Picture:
    • Envisions an ecosystem where buying any asset is seamless, regardless of the underlying chain.
    • Robinhood aims to abstract away technical complexity from users.
  • Quote:

    "A customer should not know what's going on in the background...We want to give them the access to the securities and being able to have all the advantage of the blockchain technology under it, like 24/7 trading." – Johann Kerbrat (13:57)

6. Tokenized Stocks: Access & Expansion

• [15:59–17:32]
  • Availability: Currently, tokenized stocks are only accessible to EU and EEA citizens, not yet in the US due to regulatory constraints.
  • Expansion: From 200 to over 2000 stock tokens in a year, demonstrating scalability and robustness of Robinhood’s tokenization engine.
  • Quote:

    "We launched in June last year in Cannes with 200 stock tokens and now we are more than 2000 stock tokens." – Johann Kerbrat (16:14)

7. On-Chain Liquidity for Tokenized Assets

• [17:32–20:36]
  • Challenge: Liquidity is the main hurdle for tokenized securities—without depth, DeFi integration is limited.
  • Strategy: Robinhood plans phased rollouts: currently not transferable on-chain; future phases will increase exchange connectivity and routing orders for best price.
  • Quote:

    "A lot of the solution is going to be into how do you route orders and how do you connect to multiple source of orders instead of just having one off." – Johann Kerbrat (18:37)

8. What Wider Access Enables

• [20:36–22:20]
  • Vision: Increased liquidity and market access could unlock cross-asset lending, more sophisticated credit products, and multi-asset collateral options (public stock, private equity, etc.).
  • Long-term Outlook: Envisions programmatic underwriters and mixing of asset types for broader financial inclusion.

9. Robinhood Wallet: Positioning and Integration

• [22:20–25:55]
  • Purpose: For advanced users desiring more control (self-custody, DeFi access).
  • Integration: Optimized for Robinhood Chain and tokenized stocks, mirroring Robinhood’s UX.
  • Quote:

    "You can buy a stock token like the same way you're buying a stock in the US...We don't ask you for bridging, we don't ask you for gas fees, we don't ask you for keys or anything like that." – Johann Kerbrat (24:25)

10. Regulatory Landscape: The Clarity Act

• [25:55–29:16]
  • What It Means: Seeks to harmonize US crypto regulations, simplifying product offerings and customer access nationwide.
  • Interest: Eager for unified frameworks around staking, stablecoins, and asset offerings.
  • Quote:

    "What Clarity is going to bring is this level playing field where everyone can offer the same product to the same customers. And there is not this like constant question of like how are we going to get sued if we offer this product or not." – Johann Kerbrat (26:07)

11. Strategic Investments: Talos & Lighter

• Talos: [29:16–33:45]
  • Rationale: Talos provides backend trading connectivity, improving liquidity aggregation and connections to institutional clients (e.g., via Bitstamp acquisition).
  • Synergy: Aims to serve as a crypto “backend-as-a-service” for others, directly contesting Coinbase’s strategy.
  • M&A: Open to acquisitions if strategic fit and acceleration are clear.
  • Quote:

    "We are constantly looking at more ways to give a better price to our customer...Talos kind of brings a platform that can allow us to do that faster." – Johann Kerbrat (30:54)

• Lighter: [36:55–39:39]
  • Rationale: Lighter is innovating decentralized perpetuals (perps) with zero-knowledge proofs—a category Robinhood is also entering, especially in EU.
  • Competitive View: Sees more room for overall market growth than rivalry at present.
  • Quote:

    "We're just too early, to be honest, in the space to really worry about grabbing market share or focusing on that. And we should be more focused on growing the buy in general." – Johann Kerbrat (38:33)

12. Regulatory Barriers for Equity and Perp Trading in the US

• [39:39–41:09]
  • Perpetuals: Not currently allowed for US users—separate CFTC work is required; not part of the Clarity Act.

13. Other New Robinhood Initiatives

• [41:09–42:51]
  • Prediction Markets: Robinhood leverages Kalshi on the backend instead of building an in-house prediction market for now—focus is customer choice and best product.

14. Calls to Action for Builders

• [42:51–43:42]
  • Encouragement: Developers should review Robinhood Chain’s documentation and participate in upcoming hackathons (details on the Robinhood blog).
  • Quote:

    "I want to test what people are building. I want to try it out myself and see what we can elevate and, you know, really want us to have fun and keep building." – Johann Kerbrat (43:04)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Open Ecosystem Ethos:

  "We think that we can bring the two together and actually use the blockchain technology as a new way to operate the financial system." – Johann Kerbrat ([04:03])

• Vision for the Future:

  "The customer should not know what's going on in the background. ...We want to give them the access to the securities and being able to have all the advantage of the blockchain technology under it, like 24/7 trading." – Johann Kerbrat ([13:57])

• Importance of Liquidity:

  "A lot of the solution is going to be into how do you route orders and how do you connect to multiple source of orders instead of just having one off." – Johann Kerbrat ([18:37])

• On Regulation:

  "What Clarity is going to bring is this level playing field where everyone can offer the same product to the same customers." – Johann Kerbrat ([26:07])

• On Market Sharing:

  "We're just too early, to be honest, in the space to really worry about grabbing market share or focusing on that. And we should be more focused on growing the buy in general." – Johann Kerbrat ([38:33])

Timeline

| Topic | Timestamp | |-----------------------------------------------|---------------| | Show open, Robinhood Chain intro | 00:00–03:44 | | Testnet purpose and details | 03:44–05:26 | | Open ecosystem design philosophy | 05:26–07:12 | | Market context vs. NASDAQ/NYSE | 13:08–15:59 | | Tokenized stocks: access and expansion | 15:59–17:32 | | Liquidity strategy for tokenized assets | 17:32–20:36 | | Wallet integration and positioning | 22:20–25:55 | | Regulatory landscape: The Clarity Act | 25:55–29:16 | | Strategic investments (Talos, Lighter) | 29:16–39:39 | | Equity perps, US regulatory hurdles | 39:39–41:09 | | Prediction markets and product strategy | 41:09–42:51 | | Builders call to action, hackathon info | 42:51–43:42 | | Show close | 43:42–43:44 |

Conclusion

Robinhood is making a decisive move to reshape financial infrastructure by launching an open, permissionless blockchain—Robinhood Chain—focused on tokenized stocks and advanced financial products. With an emphasis on liquidity, developer empowerment, and regulatory compliance, Robinhood positions itself as both a platform and competitor to Wall Street incumbents. Their strategic investments, wallet integrations, and active regulatory engagement underscore their intent to lead the transition toward a more accessible, programmable financial system.

Action Items

• Developers: Explore Robinhood Chain docs and consider participating in hackathons (info on the Robinhood blog).
• Users: Watch for future product rollouts, especially as regulatory clarity improves access to tokenized assets.