OpenAI Pushback Clouds Robinhood’s EU Tokenized-Stock Launch

Robinhood Markets has rolled out tokenized trading of U.S. stocks and exchange-traded funds for customers across 31 European Union countries, allowing them to buy and sell more than 200 equities as blockchain-based “stock tokens.” Orders are executed 24 hours a day, five days a week on the Arbitrum network, with no commission and a 0.1 % foreign-exchange fee. The brokerage also said it is building its own Ethereum-compatible Layer-2 blockchain aimed at settling real-world assets on-chain.

The product launch, announced on 30 June at a company event in Cannes, included plans for bitcoin and ether perpetual futures for EU traders this summer and for Ethereum and Solana staking in eligible U.S. jurisdictions. Robinhood pitched the package as a step toward an “all-in-one” crypto and equities platform.

As part of the debut, the company offered eligible EU users a €5 giveaway of tokens that track the private-market valuations of OpenAI and SpaceX, saying roughly $1 million worth of OpenAI tokens had already been transferred to its European unit for distribution. The tokens, issued through special-purpose vehicles, cannot be redeemed for underlying shares.

OpenAI publicly distanced itself from the offer on 2 July, warning that the instruments "are not OpenAI equity" and asserting it had neither partnered with nor approved any transfer of its stock to Robinhood. SpaceX has not commented, but Elon Musk labeled the instruments "fake equity" on social media. Robinhood Chief Executive Officer Vlad Tenev replied that the tokens are derivatives designed to give retail investors indirect exposure to private assets.

Robinhood’s shares initially climbed as much as 12 % to a record high on the day of the announcement before retreating after OpenAI’s statement. The episode highlights both the commercial promise and the regulatory uncertainty surrounding efforts to tokenize traditional and private-company securities.