Robinhood CEO Explores Blockchain for 24/7 Trading

Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev expressed that to enable 24/7 trading, the platform might need to adopt blockchain technology, as traditional infrastructure poses challenges for continuous trading.

In an interview with Yahoo Finance, Tenev highlighted that while Robinhood currently allows 24/5 trading (24 hours a day on weekdays), implementing 24/7 trading is complex, leading to reservations about market readiness among participants.

> “24/7 is going to be tough with traditional infrastructure. But if we think about tokenization, that is one of the advantages for both retail and institutional consumers if we move in that direction, which is that blockchain runs 24/7.”

Interestingly, Robinhood has already begun using stablecoins for weekend settlements, indicating a shift towards enhancing its operational framework.

Robinhood’s Support for Crypto and Tokenization

Tenev is an advocate for crypto, blockchain technology, and tokenization, describing them as the future for financial instruments. He emphasized the platform’s ambition to become a hub for varied investments through the tokenization of real-world assets. Tenev shared Robinhood’s plans to bolster crypto adoption by introducing more assets, enhancing the Robinhood wallet, and integrating Bitstamp for institutional access.

Additionally, Robinhood has positioned itself as a compliant platform for retail crypto trading, listing 23 cryptocurrencies, including the recent addition of the Arbitrum token, ARB. The platform even hosted a $2 million Robinhood Trivia contest, rewarding winners with BTC, although Tenev raised concerns about AI chatbot usage among participants.

The company appears to benefit from its pro-crypto stance, as Tenev attended a White House Roundtable on Crypto and the SEC closed its investigation into Robinhood Crypto with no enforcement actions, contributing to a 19% increase in the company’s stock, HOOD, this year.

Traditional Stock Exchanges Eye 24-Hour Trading

On the traditional trading front, exchanges like Cboe Global Markets and the Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE) are also looking to implement 24/5 trading. Recently, Nasdaq announced its goal for 24/5 trading by mid-2026, pending regulatory approval and readiness from infrastructure providers.

Nasdaq President Tal Cohen acknowledged the complexities in making 24/5 trading a reality, confirming that liquidity, transparency, and integrity are imperative to sustainable market practices as demand for constant trading grows.