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Robinhood Markets has launched the public testnet for Robinhood Chain, its Ethereum layer-2 network built on Arbitrum technology, opening the platform to developers building tokenized financial products including stocks, ETFs, and private equity instruments.
Announced at Consensus Hong Kong, the testnet marks Robinhood’s formal entry into blockchain infrastructure as the brokerage looks to diversify beyond traditional trading services and bring mainstream financial assets on-chain.
The public testnet provides early access points and tools for developers interested in building on the Robinhood Chain:
According to Robinhood’s official release, the testnet phase is designed to help identify and resolve technical and stability issues while fostering developer engagement before the mainnet launch planned for later in 2026.
“With Arbitrum’s developer-friendly technology, Robinhood Chain is well-positioned to help the industry deliver the next chapter of tokenization and permissions financial services.” Steven Goldfeder, Co-Founder and CEO of Offchain Labs said in a statement.
Robinhood’s move into blockchain infrastructure comes amid broader industry shifts toward asset tokenization and decentralized finance (DeFi).
By embedding compliance at the chain layer and integrating with existing Ethereum ecosystems, Robinhood seeks to balance regulatory requirements with open-access Web3 innovation.
The company’s push also reflects a strategic attempt to diversify its revenue beyond traditional brokerage services.
According to recent market analysis, Robinhood experienced a 38% year-over-year decline in crypto transaction revenue in Q4 2025.
Industry observers note that tokenized RWAs are gaining traction as traditional financial assets increasingly find representation on blockchain networks.
Despite this promise, some analysts caution that bridging the regulatory and technical demands of real-world assets onto blockchain platforms remains complex.
Robinhood plans to further engage the developer community through a series of global initiatives tied to the testnet phase, including hackathons and buildathons with substantial prize incentives.
The successful transition from testnet to mainnet will be a key milestone. A live mainnet would open the network for broader usage beyond developers.
Developers and ecosystem participants are encouraged to explore the public testnet, build applications, and contribute to a platform that Robinhood hopes could underpin next-generation financial infrastructure.
