Bloomberg Talks

Episode: Robinhood Chairman & CEO Vladimir Tenev Talks Regulation

Date: February 25, 2025
Host: Bloomberg
Guest: Vlad Tenev, Robinhood Chairman & CEO

Episode Overview

In this episode, Robinhood Chairman and CEO Vlad Tenev discusses the company's financial health, recent regulatory developments, the rise of crypto and tokenization, and his vision for democratizing investments—including into private assets and real estate. Tenev also touches on regulation's evolving role in the finance industry, Robinhood's new crypto ventures, and his involvement in Harmonic, an AI startup. Throughout the conversation, Tenev emphasizes the importance of product innovation, the benefits and risks of new financial technologies, and the need to rethink outdated regulations to match the pace of technological change.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Robinhood’s Financial Standing & Stock Volatility

[01:09 – 02:03]

• Robinhood reported its first billion-dollar revenue quarter, marking record net income and net deposits in 2024 ($50 billion).
  • “The business has been doing tremendously well. ...we had our first billion dollar revenue quarter in the company's history. ...record net income, profits, record net deposits.” — Vlad Tenev [01:09]
• Tenev downplays the significance of daily stock fluctuations, focusing on long-term product innovation and business health.
  • “We don't really try to look at this stuff day to day because then we get wrapped up into the macro and things that are outside of our control. ...Some days it'll go up, some days it'll go down.” — Vlad Tenev [01:32]

2. Customer Behavior During Market Swings

[02:10 – 02:53]

• Robinhood’s clients tend to remain “long innovation”—favoring technology stocks even during declines, seeing drops as buying opportunities.
  • “Our customers tend to be long innovation...they view these as buying opportunities. ...They have a long term perspective on these things.” — Vlad Tenev [02:18]

3. Robinhood Legend and Active Traders

[03:03 – 04:12]

• Robinhood has targeted sophisticated traders with its new active trader platform, Robinhood Legend, already achieving a $50 million annual revenue run rate.
  • “Active traders tend to be more sophisticated and...they can deploy [trading] strategies regardless of market conditions.” — Vlad Tenev [03:03]
• This segment is more resilient in downturns, as active traders continue to trade amid volatility.

4. Company Priorities and Metrics

[04:27 – 05:18]

• Tenev emphasizes product velocity and innovation above all market metrics.
  • “All that matters is the rate of innovation and the rate of positive technological change.” — Vlad Tenev [04:51]
• Plans for three major product launches in the coming year and ongoing business diversification.

5. Crypto: Opportunities, Regulation, and Comparison with Coinbase

[05:18 – 06:34]

• Robinhood is seen as a rising competitor to Coinbase in crypto services.
  • Notes the crypto sector remains nascent; institutions still hesitant to participate fully.
• Tenev criticizes US regulations that prohibit connecting crypto to real-world assets.
  • “We're still in the US generally not allowed to connect crypto technology to real assets like stocks and other securities.” — Vlad Tenev [05:59]

6. Regulatory Environment & SEC Investigation

[06:17 – 07:04]

• The SEC recently closed its crypto investigation into Robinhood with no enforcement action.
• Tenev supports having financial regulators to protect customers and ensure trust, calling regulation “good for business.”
  • “Regulation is good for our business, not just good for customers. And we know how to operate in a highly regulated arena.” — Vlad Tenev [06:51]

7. Tokenization, Private Assets & Rethinking Accreditation

[07:10 – 10:04]

• Tenev makes a strong case for rethinking accreditation rules, advocating for greater retail access to private equity and startup shares (e.g., SpaceX, OpenAI).
  • “A lot of these rules were created in a different time...I think now with basically an infinite amount of information on the Internet, AI that can help you distill it...those concerns just don't make sense.” — Vlad Tenev [07:48]
• Suggests robust disclosure requirements and risk clarifications can protect investors instead of blanket restrictions.
• Sees tokenization as a transformative opportunity to democratize not just public markets, but private and alternative assets as well.

8. Industry Partnerships and Expansion into Tokenized Funds

[10:04 – 11:19]

• Robinhood is open to partnerships aimed at retail involvement in tokenized private funds (e.g., with Apollo, BlackRock).
  • “We're generally in conversations with anyone trying to do interesting things in the space. ...If you want to be in the AI sector as a retail investor, there’s relatively few options that you can actually invest in.” — Vlad Tenev [10:33]
• Acknowledges frustration that retail investors have limited AI investment options; most innovation happening in private firms.

9. Engagement with Policy Makers

[11:19 – 12:23]

• Tenev confirms open dialogue with the US administration and officials like David Sachs, who aims for the US to remain a global leader in crypto and AI.
  • “Crypto and AI are the two technology trends that we believe will shape Robinhood's future and the future of the financial industry.” — Vlad Tenev [11:56]

10. Crypto Meme Coins, Listing Standards & Tokenization

[12:23 – 13:56]

• Tenev frames the meme coin boom as double-edged: risky but innovative.
  • “You can sit down in front of some software, create a coin, and have it be trading and...access to investors in five minutes. ...That’s a scary thing, but it's also an incredibly powerful thing.” — Vlad Tenev [13:13]
• Sees tokenization as a way to bring efficiency and accessibility of crypto to traditional, productive assets, balancing risks and oversight.

11. Robinhood’s Long-term Vision

[13:56 – 14:37]

• Tenev’s ambition: Robinhood as the universal financial platform—a place to buy, sell, or invest in any asset class, including real estate, if customers desire.
  • “Every asset that's investable and even, you know, some assets that you'd like to hold in physical form are all in scope of the vision.” — Vlad Tenev [14:19]

12. Harmonic: Tenev’s AI Startup

[14:37 – 15:40]

• Tenev is executive chair at Harmonic, an AI company focused on building an advanced reasoning engine to reduce “hallucinations” in AI-generated content.
  • “The models are very confident, confident about spewing wrong information. ...Those hallucinations can be pretty critical. So we're trying to solve that problem.” — Vlad Tenev [15:19]
• He is involved more than a normal investor, but Robinhood remains his operating focus.

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• On record performance:
  “We had our first billion dollar revenue quarter in the company's history.” — Vlad Tenev [01:09]

• On customer mindset:
  “Our customers...have a long term perspective on these things. They'd like to be owners of technology and innovation.” — Vlad Tenev [02:18]

• On product innovation:
  “All that matters is the rate of innovation and the rate of positive technological change.” — Vlad Tenev [04:51]

• On regulation:
  “Regulation is good for our business, not just good for customers. And we know how to operate in a highly regulated arena.” — Vlad Tenev [06:51]

• On democratizing private markets:
  “A lot of these rules were created in a different time...those concerns just don't make sense.” — Vlad Tenev [07:48]

• On meme coins & tokenization:
  “You can sit down in front of some software, create a coin...That’s a scary thing, but it's also an incredibly powerful thing.” — Vlad Tenev [13:13]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Introduction & Context: 00:23 – 01:09
• Robinhood Stock Performance & Response: 01:09 – 02:10
• Active Traders & Robinhood Legend: 03:03 – 04:12
• Product Innovation & Company Focus: 04:27 – 05:18
• Crypto Strategy & Regulatory Comparison: 05:18 – 06:34
• SEC Investigation Closure & Regulatory Stance: 06:17 – 07:04
• Tokenization & Access to Private Firms: 07:10 – 10:04
• Retail Access to AI Companies / Fund Partnerships: 10:30 – 11:19
• Policy Engagement & Technology Leadership: 11:32 – 12:23
• Meme Coin Craze & Risks: 12:52 – 13:56
• Universal Investment Platform Vision: 13:56 – 14:37
• Harmonic and AI Hallucination Issues: 14:51 – 15:40

Conclusion

This episode offers rich insights into the future of retail investing, technological innovation in finance, and the evolving role of regulation. Vlad Tenev positions Robinhood at the forefront of democratizing financial services, advocating for regulatory modernization, broader asset class access, and an embrace of crypto and AI—grounded in both ambition and an appreciation for the risks involved.