Brokerage app Robinhood is reportedly building a blockchain network to let retail investors in Europe trade U.S. stocks. According to a Bloomberg report from May. 7, the company is planning to strengthen its presence in the local market by offering tokenized securities trade, like stocks.
Two crypto companies, Arbitrum and the Solana Foundation, are reportedly competing to become partners in the project. Tokenization is the process of converting real-world assets, like stocks, real estate, or commodities, into digital tokens that can be traded on a blockchain.
Tokenizing securities instead of offering direct exposure can provide several benefits: lower costs by removing traditional financial infrastructure, increased accessibility, faster settlement times, and quicker transactions.
Robinhood eyes European expansion with Lithuanian license
More brokerage firms and investment companies are looking into asset tokenization. Robinhood is preparing to expand into Europe. The company obtained a brokerage license in Lithuania in Apr. 2025.
The license will offer investment services across the European Union. Robinhood has also signed a deal in 2024 to acquire the crypto exchange Bitstamp, according to Vladimir Tenev recent interview.
You can sit down in front of some software, create a coin and have it be trading in 5 minutes […] That’s a scary thing.
Robinhood’s shares increased 2.7% on the Nasdaq on May. 7, according to Google Finance. The company’s revenue dropped 8.6% in the first quarter of 2025, but it still dominated Wall Street’s expectations.
Bloomberg reports that no deal has been reached yet between the brokerage and either Arbitrum or Solana about the project, and all three have declined to comment.
More traditional financial firms are analyzing blockchain-based solutions. In May. 2018, Banco Santander became the first to use blockchain for investor voting, while the U.S. giant JP Morgan created its own blockchain platform, Onyx.
