专访Robinhood加密负责人：代币化打通全球市场正在路上，美股上链只是第一步

Compiled & Translated by: Odaily TechFlow

Guest: Johann Kerbrat (Senior Vice President and General Manager of Robinhood Crypto)

Podcast Source: The Rollup

Original Title: Is Robinhood About to Become the World's Financial Super App?

Release Date: May 6, 2026

Editor's Introduction

This episode of the podcast features an interview with Johann Kerbrat, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Robinhood Crypto. He stated that perpetual contracts (perpetuals) are already operational in Europe, and tokenization will be the next explosive growth area, including bringing US stocks, private equity, and commodities onto the blockchain. Johann also directly addressed comparisons between Robinhood and Hyperliquid. He believes they represent two different business models – "licensed centralized" and "fully decentralized" – which are not comparable. However, he noted that Hyperliquid's token, HYPE, is now available for purchase on Robinhood.

Key Quotes

The Explosion of Prediction Markets

• "It's a whole new way to invest. Before, ordinary people couldn't hedge against the Fed's interest rate decisions, the future direction of AI, or which company might build the best model. Prediction markets and event contracts allow you to truly hedge your portfolio across these dimensions."
• "If you want to bet on AI, instead of picking a single stock like Nvidia, AMD, or Microsoft, you can just buy an event contract on AI. This is something ordinary investors simply couldn't access before; it was only open to specific institutions."
• "In our view, exchanges are basically commodities. Any of our products connect to multiple exchanges. This logic applies to crypto, stocks, and prediction markets as well."

Perpetual Contracts and Regulation

• "Perpetual contracts are a simpler product in many ways. You don't have to manage expiry dates or worry about specific funding mechanisms. They can settle continuously."
• "We already have about 12 perpetual contracts live in Europe, with up to 10x leverage. We have been in constant dialogue with the CFTC, and the chair has said many times this is one of their top priorities. Once the US regulatory framework is clear, we are ready to launch at any time."
• "Our stance has always been clear: rewards on stablecoins are not the same as FDIC-insured bank accounts or savings accounts. However, we also don't want to penalize users who hold stablecoins solely for quick transfers between their wallet and the platform."

Tokenization

• "Tokenization will be the next major breakout. Right now, it's hard for ordinary users to buy international stocks, and it's hard for international users to buy US stocks. It gets even more complex across continents, with more taxes and fewer channels for secure yield."
• "We see many people in many countries buying USDC and USDT simply for safe USD exposure. What's possible with stablecoins will also be possible with commodities, stocks, and private equity assets in the future."
• "For the average American wanting to invest in private equity, they either can't get in because they aren't accredited investors, or they can't access quality allocations. Tokenization can level that playing field."
• "Tokenization is the next stage of technological evolution. Adapt or be disrupted. No one wants to go back to the old system."

Robinhood's Product Logic

• "We want to use crypto rails to gradually replace some legacy backend systems. In Europe, we've already listed 2,000 tokenized US stocks and ETFs, offering clients everything tokenized assets provide: 24/7 trading, fractional shares, and instant settlement."
• "For many people, interacting with DeFi protocols for the first time has a learning curve. Users constantly have to think about how to bridge chains and pay gas fees. But within the Robinhood Wallet, these complex steps are handled in the background – the user doesn't need to deal with them."

Regarding Hyperliquid

• "On one side, you have a licensed, regulated business. On the other side, you have something completely decentralized. You can't directly compare them. What we do is centralized. If something goes wrong, you can sue Robinhood, you can complain to regulators about Robinhood. It's a different world."
• "We don't see each other as cutthroat competitors. You can buy Hyperliquid's token, HYPE, on Robinhood right now."

Robinhood's Super App Vision

Host: Robinhood's crypto business has grown from an experiment a few years ago to a full-fledged market today. What has it been like building this up over the past two years?

Johann Kerbrat: It's been really cool. We started back in 2018, during the crypto winter. A lot of people asked us why we were bothering to list BTC and ETH. Our idea was simple: we want our users to have access to all the financial products they care about, and crypto is one of them. Since then, we've listed many assets, enabled staking in most states, built transfer functions, launched the self-custody Robinhood Wallet, and expanded to Europe. Last year alone, crypto generated over $1 billion in revenue. Now that the market is a bit calmer, we're fine-tuning the new features users will need when the next bull run comes.

Host: You mention the market is calm, but prediction markets are doing incredibly well. I have a stat here: prediction markets on Robinhood are up 320%. Why is there so much excitement around prediction markets?

Johann Kerbrat: I think it's a completely new way to invest. Before, ordinary people couldn't hedge against the Fed's interest rate decisions, the future of AI, or which company would build the best model. Prediction markets and event contracts allow you to truly hedge your portfolio across these dimensions. For example, if you want to bet on AI, in the past you had to pick a stock like Nvidia, AMD, or Microsoft. Now, you can directly buy an event contract on AI. This is a type of product that ordinary investors simply couldn't access before; it was only open to specific institutions. This is also one of Robinhood's fastest-growing businesses, embodying the value of our super app – everything done in one app without transferring funds between platforms, from buying stocks to crypto to event contracts.

Robinhood's Product Logic

Host: A follow-up question on prediction markets. Given the success of this product and Robinhood's super app approach, will you do deeper vertical integration for prediction markets? You have a lot of order flow, but I understand some contracts are ultimately settled on other exchanges. Will Robinhood internalize the market execution layer?

Johann Kerbrat: In our view, exchanges are basically commodities. Any of our products connect to multiple exchanges. This applies to crypto, stocks – we connect to multiple market makers. It's the same for prediction markets. Besides Kalshi, we've also connected to ForecastEx, and we announced a joint venture with CBOE to create an exchange specifically for the types of event contracts we care about. This is important to us to ensure we have an outlet for every product we want to offer our customers.

Host: Speaking of integrating these underlying products, can Robinhood be seen as an aggregator of various crypto protocols and products? Competitor Coinbase has done this, using Morpho for Bitcoin-backed loans (Coinbase's on-chain lending product in partnership with the Morpho protocol), allowing users to deposit BTC and borrow stablecoins. I've heard you are either integrating or have integrated with Lighter for perpetuals (Lighter is a decentralized perpetual exchange). How do you view building a crypto business by using different product lines and directly leveraging underlying on-chain protocols? Will Robinhood's crypto business eventually just be a frontend aggregating all on-chain protocols, routing order flow to these protocols?

Johann Kerbrat: This is exactly what we've been doing, which is why we launched the self-custody Robinhood Wallet as an option. The goal is to allow users already accustomed to the Robinhood UX to also get on-chain and play in DeFi. You're right, for many people, interacting with these DeFi protocols for the first time has a learning curve. Users constantly think about how to bridge chains and pay gas fees. But within the Robinhood Wallet, these complex steps are handled in the background – the user doesn't need to deal with them. However, we can do much more. For instance, we haven't integrated our investment in Lighter yet, but we've invested in the company and will build on it in the future.

Another thing we want to do is use crypto to replace some legacy backend systems. In Europe, we've already listed 2,000 tokenized US stocks and ETFs, giving customers everything tokenized assets offer, including 24/7 trading, fractional shares, and instant settlement. This is very important to us: gradually replacing traditional systems with crypto rails and bringing these benefits to users. For instance, in the European market, due to time zone differences, European users are asleep when US markets open, but tokenized stocks can be traded anytime.

The Path for Perpetuals in the US

Host: One of Robinhood's biggest businesses is options. I saw a figure of around $4 billion annually, whether as a counterparty or providing market-making liquidity. Many in crypto think perpetual swaps are a better product than options. Do you agree? If so many people are essentially trading 0DTE options, why not let them use perpetuals? How do you compare perpetuals to short-term options, and how will perpetuals enter Robinhood's product suite?

Johann Kerbrat: We already sell perpetuals in Europe, which has clear regulation. We currently offer around 12 contracts with up to 10x leverage. Perpetuals are indeed a simpler product in many ways: you don't constantly manage expiry dates or worry about certain specific funding mechanisms. They settle continuously, which is a significant differentiator and explains why they perform so well in many places. Another reason is the variety of products perpetuals can create. For example, some decentralized exchanges in Singapore do a great job with commodity perpetuals. The logic is simple: the world doesn't stop on weekends. When something happens in the Middle East, people want the ability to hedge and invest.

We think perpetuals are an excellent product, and we are in constant dialogue with the CFTC to see how to bring them back to the US. But it needs clear regulation. The chair has said many times this is one of their top priorities, so we are hopeful. Once the regulatory path is clear, we are ready to launch at any time.

Clarity on Stablecoin Yields

Host: On regulation, your CEO Vlad has been very vocal on Twitter about "unlocking stablecoin yields," referring to the part of the Clarity Act concerning stablecoin yields. There was a significant development over the weekend, with regulators making a clearer distinction between "rewards" and "interest," effectively assigning interest to banks. Idle stablecoins can't directly generate interest. My understanding is that users would need to click a button to deposit them into some yield opportunity. How will Robinhood present this product-wise? For example, as a user holding stablecoins, under last week's framework, would it be "earn yield with Robinhood Gold" or "earn yield with Robinhood stablecoin interest," requiring an active choice rather than being default?

Johann Kerbrat: The final text depends on the outcome of the legislation. We'll be cautious until it passes, but it sounds like they should find a good compromise. Our position has always been clear: stablecoin rewards are not the same as FDIC-insured bank accounts or savings accounts. We've never intended to blur that understanding. But at the same time, as you mentioned with Vlad's view, we don't want to penalize users who hold stablecoins solely for quick transfers between their wallet and the platform. So we hope they can also earn rewards while holding stablecoins. Based on these recent moves, there should be room to pass some rewards on to users.

If the entire Clarity Act passes, it's a huge win for users. It would allow us to develop products for the entire US market, rather than the current state-by-state fragmentation with different rules and products. Passing the Clarity Act would enable us to unify all our products nationwide.

Bold Prediction: Asset Tokenization Will Unlock Global Markets

Host: I want to ask a broader question. With the Clarity Act, stablecoins, prediction markets, perpetuals, and DeFi, everyone is wondering what the next breakout will be. What is your boldest prediction? What do you think will explode in the next year, either at Robinhood or in the broader ecosystem?

Johann Kerbrat: Tokenization will be the next major breakout. Right now, it's still hard for ordinary users to buy international stocks, and hard for international users to buy US. It's relatively easier within the northern hemisphere, but crossing to different continents is much more complex, with more taxes and fewer channels for secure yield. Stablecoins are a prime example. So many people in so many countries buy USDC and USDT simply for safe USD exposure. We think this can be done with more than just currencies. Commodities, stocks, private equity – these assets are destined for tokenization. Users won't just hold them in portfolios; they can lend, borrow, and even use them as collateral for mortgages based on these assets.

These things are possible now in the US if you have a large enough portfolio, but ordinary people wanting to invest in private equity either can't get in because they aren't accredited investors, or they can't access quality allocations. Tokenization can level this playing field, making it accessible to everyone.

Host: One thing I'm particularly interested in: the Korean stock market is booming right now, but you can't trade it on-chain. Also, you can now buy pre-IPO shares of some US AI companies, but there's a massive amount of Chinese AI pre-IPO allocations that are inaccessible. How quickly can you move on this? As tokenization heats up, how fast can Robinhood list tokenized assets and expand to different jurisdictions? What's the friction to actually getting a new tokenized asset live on the frontend?

Johann Kerbrat: It depends on the asset and the regulation. But overall, we have a technology stack we've been building for the past 10 years. I personally believe our engineering team is one of the strongest in Silicon Valley. So, whenever the regulatory green light is given, we can move very fast. For example, I think Robinhood is one of the brokers that has embedded AI systems the most. When you open a detail page for a token or a stock, you see a market summary. This was one of the most requested features from users; they get notifications about price movements and want to know why. We've also built the Cortex assistant, which allows you to discuss strategies and find areas for improvement. All this shows that once Robinhood decides to do something, we can execute quickly.

Host: Speaking of tokenization, the DTCC (Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation) suddenly announced its tokenization service, with over 50 companies participating initially, including Robinhood. It's planned for launch in October 2026. What does this DTCC tokenization service mean for Robinhood?

Johann Kerbrat: Partnering with an institution like that has always been important to us. We've been loudly advocating for a long time that T+1 settlement is too slow. We need it to be much faster, moving towards 24/7 trading. So, we support any initiative pushing that forward. But ultimately, tokenization is the next stage of technological evolution. Adapt or be disrupted. No one wants to go back to the old system. So these companies all need to realize this and start building products based on