CoinDesk
Robinhood Chain, the broker's new layer-2 built on Arbitrum's technology stack, processed more than $568 million in trading volume on Wednesday and over $350 million through the first part of Thursday, pushing Arbitrum's ARB token to a 19% gain over 24 hours and making it the top performer in the top 100 cryptocurrencies, according to CoinDesk and blockchain data from Entropy Advisors. The activity was driven in large part by a memecoin trading burst, with stablecoin balances on the network climbing above $260 million within its first week. Tokenized equities and DeFi savings products through Morpho round out the activity mix.
Why it matters
Under the agreement between the two sides, 10% of Robinhood Chain's net protocol revenue flows back to the Arbitrum ecosystem, split between the DAO treasury and the Developer Guild, a model that turns the layer-2 not just into infrastructure that hosts a chain but into a stakeholder in its economic success. FalconX had projected in April that the chain could generate around $1.1 million in transaction fees in its first six months. Brendan Ma, head of investment strategies at the Arbitrum Foundation, said on X that the early run-rate already points to more than $12.5 million in annualized revenue for Robinhood based on a single day's activity, with most RWA activity still to come.
Market impact
ARB's outperformance versus the broader top 100 comes with the implicit market read that the Arbitrum ecosystem is now plugged into one of the largest retail broker distribution channels in the US. FalconX's longer-run forecast is more consequential than the daily number: it projects annual transaction revenue could grow to $60 million by 2030 as tokenized stocks expand and users branch into DeFi. Tokenized equity volumes across the broader market already hit a record $3.86 billion in June, up 145% on the prior reading, suggesting the Robinhood Chain feed into that trend rather than bucking it.
Frequently asked questions
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Why did ARB jump 19%?
ARB led gains across the top 100 cryptocurrencies after Robinhood Chain, a layer-2 built on Arbitrum's stack, processed more than $568 million in trading volume on Wednesday and over $350 million through the first part of Thursday, with memecoin trading driving much of the activity.
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How does Robinhood Chain connect to Arbitrum?
Robinhood Chain was built on top of Arbitrum's technology stack. Under the agreement, 10% of Robinhood Chain's net protocol revenue flows back to the Arbitrum ecosystem, split between the DAO treasury and the Developer Guild.
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How much revenue is Robinhood Chain generating?
FalconX had projected roughly $1.1 million in transaction fees in the chain's first six months. Brendan Ma of the Arbitrum Foundation said on X that a single day's activity run-rates to more than $12.5 million in annualized revenue, with most RWA activity still to come.
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What is Robinhood offering on its chain?
Robinhood launched tokenized US stocks in more than 120 countries, a DeFi savings vault running through lending protocol Morpho, and outlined plans for AI-powered trading and additional asset classes, with tokenized equities the centerpiece of the chain.
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What is the long-term forecast for Robinhood Chain revenue?
FalconX projects that annual transaction revenue on Robinhood Chain could grow to $60 million by 2030 as users move beyond tokenized stocks into DeFi and other onchain applications, including tokenized real-world assets.
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