Podcast Summary: The Wolf Of All Streets

Episode: “Everything You Know About Bitcoin Is About to Change”

Host: Scott Melker
Guest: Johann Kerbrat, General Manager of Robinhood Crypto
Date: December 14, 2025

Overview

In this episode, Scott Melker sits down with Johann Kerbrat to explore how Robinhood is positioning itself at the forefront of the transformation in finance by leveraging blockchain and crypto technologies. The conversation dives deep into tokenization, stablecoins under the newly passed Genius Act, regulatory challenges in the US versus Europe, Robinhood’s ongoing expansion in crypto services, prediction markets, and the maturation of Bitcoin as an asset class.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Robinhood’s Journey in Crypto and Vision for Finance

• Robinhood’s Crypto Growth

  • Launched crypto trading in early 2018, during a “crypto winter,” while competitors were backing away (03:19).
  • Growth was fostered by building during bear markets to deliver when bull markets return.
    • Quote:
      "Robinhood decided to double down on it. So I think it's really important in the crypto cycles to actually invest in building the tools when it's a bit more of a calm market."
      — Johann Kerbrat (03:19)

• Long-Term Vision

  • Believes finance in 5–10 years will be run on blockchain: instant, 24/7, and user-centric (04:18).
  • Robinhood aims to not just list crypto assets but focus broadly on tokenization and modernization.
    • Quote:
      “We try to make sure that we have part of our brain focused on the day-to-day... and there's also a big part of our teams focusing on the longer-term projects like tokenization.”
      — Johann Kerbrat (04:18)

2. Tokenization & The “Plumbing” of Wall Street

• Outdated Financial Infrastructure

  • Current systems have not evolved since the 1980s; tokenization can offer 24/7 instant settlement and ownership transfer (05:20).
  • Robinhood’s European entity offers about 1,000 tokenized assets—U.S. stocks and ETFs represented on-chain.

• Customer-Centric Benefits

  • Users control where their assets reside, avoid multi-day settlement delays, and can transfer assets between brokerages in minutes, increasing competition.
  • Quote:
    "We want to bring the US stocks and ETFs on chain... in the future you’ll see tokenization for private equity, for real estate, for art, for basically anything that can be traded."
    — Johann Kerbrat (06:55)

• Event Reference: GameStop

  • GameStop saga highlighted problems with T+2 (now T+1) settlement; Robinhood had to front users’ cash because of system delays (25:28).
    • Quote:
      "Nobody, I think, has felt the pain points probably more than your company and wants to see a more efficient market."
      — Scott Melker (25:28)

3. The Blockchain “Rails” Debate

• Will There Be a Single Chain?

  • Uncertainty about whether future tokenized assets will use public chains (Ethereum, Solana), private consortium chains, or proprietary ones.
  • Most users don’t care about underlying chains—just want seamless asset movement (11:04).
    • Quote:
      “Crypto was made by engineers for engineers... At the end of the day, I think a lot of people don’t really care about that. They want to be able to buy their Tesla stock on a Saturday at noon.”
      — Johann Kerbrat (11:04)

• Abstraction and Simplicity

  • Robinhood abstracts away blockchain complexities—users may not even notice they’re using tokens.
  • UI/UX remains a challenge across the whole crypto industry (13:37, 15:37).

4. Stablecoins & Regulation: The Genius Act and Beyond

• Stablecoins in Practice

  • Stablecoins are integral to Robinhood’s backend for 24/7 settlements (18:15).
  • Robinhood offers USDC trading without fees and participates in the Global Dollar Network (USDG stablecoin).

• Regulatory Clarity

  • The Genius Act legitimized stablecoins, encouraging banks and big institutions to engage with crypto (19:15).
    • Quote:
      “Stablecoin is legitimate, we can actually use it. And so you're starting to see a lot of banks... starting to look into it.”
      — Johann Kerbrat (19:15)

• US Falling Behind Europe

  • Europe’s MiCA framework provides regulatory certainty, while the US remains fragmented, requiring Robinhood to navigate a patchwork of state rules (20:51).

  • Hopes for the Clarity Act to unify and simplify US crypto regulation.

    • Quote:
      “It’s been too long that we are having this mess in the back and forth with hard regulator or not hard regulator. And frankly, it’s becoming a bit embarrassing to see that in the EU… they have a framework already in place.”
      — Johann Kerbrat (21:44)

5. Product Evolution & Expansion

• Advanced Trading Tools

  • Robinhood now caters to both beginners and advanced traders, offering expanded asset lists, better fee structures, Smart Exchange Routing, and a professional-grade web platform (Robinhood Legend) (28:39).

• International Expansion

  • Recent acquisition of Bitstamp positions Robinhood for further growth in global markets outside the US (29:36, 30:28).

• One-Stop Financial Platform

  • Robinhood aims to consolidate banking, trading, custody, credit cards, and more in a user-friendly, unified app environment (31:14).

  • Quote:
    "The idea is to be the app that will solve your financial problems and really make you at the center of all of it."
    — Johann Kerbrat (32:18)

6. Competition and Market Growth

• Broadening the Market

  • Robinhood doesn’t fixate on taking market share from a single competitor (e.g., Coinbase or Schwab), but rather on growing the whole pie through better tools and education (34:09, 36:04).

• Wall Street and Government Involvement

  • Wall Street must eventually become part of crypto for deep liquidity; legacy institutions may be slow, but they cannot stop broader adoption (37:00).

7. Recent Market Events & Exchange Safety

• October 10th Liquidation Event

  • Massive crypto liquidations highlighted risks around excessive leverage; Robinhood’s structure and risk management limited customer exposure (38:56).

  • Quote:
    “Any of these incidents, I think is a damage to the industry... when this happens, people start losing trust and they start to pull back.”
    — Johann Kerbrat (38:56)

• Leverage at Robinhood

  • No plans to offer extreme leverage; capped at regulatory limits with a focus on user safety (41:02).

8. Prediction Markets: The New Frontier

• Excitement & Utility

  • Prediction contracts democratize access to previously “hedge fund exclusive” strategies; users will soon hedge events like elections or tech disruption with simplicity (41:41, 43:05).

  • Robust prediction markets signal greater financial freedom and creativity.

  • Quote:
    “You could actually buy instead a contract around AI, the future of AI, which is a lot simpler for you to understand, a lot simpler for you to control.”
    — Johann Kerbrat (43:05)

• Regulatory Barriers

  • Calls for US to adopt the EU-style knowledge assessment over financial gatekeeping (accredited investor rules) to make markets more open (47:13).

9. State of the Crypto Market and The Four-Year Cycle

• Bitcoin and Market Sentiment

  • Bitcoin’s maturing status (spot ETFs, institutional adoption); the idea of a “four-year cycle” may be obsolete given liquidity and mainstreaming (51:37).
    • Quote:
      “I don't really believe in it at this point, especially for Bitcoin with the liquidity there is.”
      — Johann Kerbrat (51:37)

• Retail Participation

  • Robinhood sees both advanced and retail investors active, with long-term focus on building applicable tools for any market phase (48:32).

Notable Quotes & Highlights

• On Abstracting Blockchain Complexity:
  "You don't need to focus about gas fees, about custody, private key, whatever. It's all about getting the benefits of the technology, but without having to actually worry about any of the complexity of crypto."
  — Johann Kerbrat (12:09)

• On Europe's Regulatory Lead:
  “In the EU… they have a framework already in place that a lot of companies currently have a license. For example, Robinhood has a MiCA license. And the US is still trying to define the Clarity Act.”
  — Johann Kerbrat (21:44)

• On Prediction Markets Accessibility:
  "Now it's accessible to everybody... it’s going to become a new ways of looking at the news, of following the actuality and what's going on in the world."
  — Johann Kerbrat (43:05)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Robinhood’s Crypto Motivation and Bear Market Construction — 03:19
• Tokenization & Outdated Finance “Plumbing” — 05:20
• Abstracting Blockchain for Users — 11:04
• Stablecoins and the Genius Act — 18:15
• Regulatory Mess: US vs. Europe — 20:51
• GameStop, T+2 Settlement, and Why Tokenization Fixes It — 25:28
• Building for Beginners and Pros; Robinhood Legend — 28:39
• International Expansion: Bitstamp — 30:28
• Becoming a ‘Bank’ or Universal Finance App? — 31:14
• Market Events: October 10th Liquidation — 38:56
• Leverage and Risk on Robinhood — 41:02
• Prediction Markets & The Average Investor — 41:41
• Debunking the Four-Year Cycle; Bitcoin Maturing — 51:37

Memorable Moments

• Host’s Anecdote

  • Scott Melker jokes about once buying “a domain for 80 bitcoin” in 2012–2013, reflecting on changing market perspectives (50:23).

• UI/UX Progress

  • A recurring theme is how much UX has improved but also how much further there is to go before “grandma” can use crypto without fearing MetaMask or private keys (15:37).

• Robinhood’s Customer Obsession

  • Describes Robinhood’s “mental model” of iterative product testing:
    “We have this mental model that the customer needs to be at the center of everything we do.”
    — Johann Kerbrat (13:37)

Conclusion

Johann Kerbrat sees Robinhood as a catalyst pushing the boundaries of both crypto and traditional finance, focusing on real-world user benefit over technical detail. The episode underlines the seismic shift underway as mainstream brokerages race to embrace blockchain, battle regulatory chaos, and deliver real financial empowerment. Kerbrat’s optimism, pragmatism, and focus on customer experience make this a compelling listen for anyone following the future of finance.