Robinhood launches Ethereum Layer-2 “AI-Native” network for token stock trading

Brokerage and financial app Robinhood launched its public mainnet on Wednesday for Ethereum layer 2 network, Robin Hood series.

the resolutionThe backed network aims to “bridge the gap” between cryptocurrencies and the world of traditional finance, opening through integrations from BitGo and Chainlink and partnerships with Uniswap and Pleiades to offer dedicated automated market making for public liquidity and property trading, respectively. The network, which Robinhood describes as “AI-driven,” also supports trading by AI agents.

“Decentralized finance opens up possibilities beyond what traditional finance can offer, but historically, has required technical expertise to navigate,” Johan Kerbrat, senior vice president of Robinhood and general manager of Crypto and International, said in a statement.

“We are bringing the best of traditional finance and decentralized finance together, and in doing so, we are expanding financial ownership to every corner of the world,” he said.

The company’s network will also open up additional throughput for what it calls “Stock Tokens,” or on-chain token representations of shares in the world’s largest companies like Nvidia and Apple, allowing users in eligible jurisdictions — which does not include the United States — to place them in lending pools and use them as collateral in DeFi.

The company is also expanding the feature set within its Robinhood wallet, opening up direct in-wallet trading through the decentralized perpetual exchange, Liteer and enabling eligible US users to use Robinhood Earn, a feature that allows individuals to lend a dollar-backed stablecoin USDG for around 7% APY.

In addition to its new features, the primary focus of the brokerage’s latest announcement is significant geographic expansion, including welcoming users from Canada and soon Singapore, which will add to its nearly 28 million existing customers. Additionally, Robinhood expects to offer cryptocurrency services to users in the United Kingdom in the near future.

Shares in Robinhood (HOOD) ended the day up more than 8% on Wednesday and are now up nearly 20% in the past month, trading at $108.65. Even at this level, the price is still more than 29% below its 52-week high of $153.86.

company last month Laying off about 10% of its employees Amid a sharp decline in revenue from cryptocurrency offerings, which fell 34% quarter-on-quarter to $134 million from $221 million.