Robinhood has formally launched the general public testnet for its new Ethereum Layer-2 community, marking a significant step towards bringing its tens of millions of customers on-chain. Constructed on Arbitrum (ARB crypto) expertise, this “Robinhood Chain” goals to decrease charges and introduce conventional inventory merchants to the world of decentralized finance (DeFi).
The Robinhood Chain public testnet is reside
Builders can now construct on a financial-grade Ethereum Layer 2 constructed on @arbitrum— designed to assist tokenized real-world and digital property.
Begin constructing with the core basis of Robinhood Chain: https://t.co/yHCQRh5x3j…
— Robinhood (@RobinhoodApp) February 11, 2026
Asserting on X, Robinhood highlighted the specific deal with creating a brand new blockchain for tokenization of actual world property, an more and more aggressive house over the previous yr as RWA have shot into the spotlights as what some are calling the subsequent main development vertical.
RobinHood Enters Layer-2 Race: What Is a Layer-2 and Why Ought to You Care?
If you’re new to crypto, consider Ethereum like a busy principal freeway that usually will get jammed, making tolls (fuel charges) costly (traditionally!). A Layer-2 (L2) community is like including an specific lane on high of that freeway; it’s quicker and cheaper, however nonetheless makes use of the safety of the primary highway.
By constructing its personal L2, Robinhood is extending its providing past crypto and inventory buying and selling; it’s making a playground the place builders can construct apps that allow customers commerce tokenized property cheaply. This aligns with Vitalik Buterin’s L2 roadmap, which envisions these networks as the first approach on a regular basis individuals will work together with the blockchain sooner or later.
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Arbitrum’s New Secret Weapon? How Robinhood Chain Works
The Robinhood Chain is constructed utilizing expertise from Offchain Labs (Arbitrum), one of many main names in Ethereum scaling. The aim right here is particular: bridging the hole between conventional finance (TradFi) and crypto.
Builders can now begin testing functions in a “low-stakes” surroundings with out utilizing actual cash. The massive focus? Tokenized property.
Inventory Tokens: Robinhood is testing methods to characterize shares (like particular US equities) as tokens on the blockchain.
Low Prices: Leveraging Arbitrum’s expertise ensures transactions price pennies, not {dollars}.
Companions: They aren’t constructing alone; integrations embody heavy hitters like Chainlink and LayerZero.
This transfer comes at an attention-grabbing time. Whereas tasks like MegaETH are pushing for uncooked velocity, Robinhood is optimizing for consumer expertise and compliance. In line with Johann Kerbrat, GM of Robinhood Crypto, this permits them to “rebuild a few of our programs” reasonably than simply scaling.
Why This Issues Past Retail Buying and selling
That is what we regularly name “adoption.” Robinhood has the large consumer base wanted to onboard tens of millions who discover native DeFi too scary or technical. Nonetheless, it additionally highlights the pattern of firms constructing their very own chains—much like how ENS deserted its personal L2 plans to deal with technique, Robinhood is diving headfirst into infrastructure to personal the shopper relationship.
For traders, this might drive worth again to Ethereum finally, particularly because the Ethereum worth fluctuates and the market seems to be for real-world utility to stabilize it. However keep in mind the danger: that is possible a “walled backyard” model of crypto, closely regulated and never as free because the pure DeFi ecosystems skilled merchants are used to.
The mainnet launch is deliberate for later in 2026. We might be watching to see if they will really merge the convenience of their app with the facility of the blockchain with out compromising the spirit of crypto.
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