Robinhood, the American financial services company known for its commission-free trading platform, launched its own blockchain, Robinhood Chain, on July 1. This new venture quickly became a focal point in the decentralized finance (DeFi) community throughout the summer, raising questions about its purpose and business strategy.
Network earnings surge
Chris Perkins, who leads Franklin Crypto, addressed these questions on the Bits + Bips podcast, describing Robinhood Chain as an “incredible unlock” for the company. He commended the blockchain’s architecture, referring to it as the “DeFi mullet in action,” an industry term for platforms with a user-friendly interface running on sophisticated DeFi technology.
Market research firm Bernstein, led by analyst Gautam Chhugani, issued a note to clients maintaining an Outperform rating and setting a $160 price target for Robinhood Markets. Bernstein reported that Robinhood Chain’s daily trading fees reached between $2 million and $4 million, placing it ahead of other major blockchains in recent weeks.
During a 15-day period, Robinhood Chain generated approximately $33 million in trading fees, outshining Solana with $11 million and BNB Chain with roughly $9 million. Almost 90% of Robinhood Chain’s revenue flows directly to Robinhood, while about 10% goes to Arbitrum, the technology platform the blockchain is built on. Less than 1% is paid to Ethereum for settlement services.
DefiLlama data indicated that Robinhood Chain amassed $23.8 million in trading fees over the most recent seven days, representing roughly 71% of its $33.5 million total for the previous 30 days. By comparison, Solana collected just $4.3 million in fees in the same week.
| Blockchain | 7-Day Fees | 15-Day Fees | 30-Day Fees |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robinhood Chain | $23.8 million | ~$33 million | $33.5 million |
| Solana | $4.3 million | $11 million | Data not specified |
| BNB Chain | Data not specified | ~$9 million | Data not specified |
Arbitrum is a layer-2 scaling solution designed for Ethereum, offering faster and cheaper transactions by processing them off the main Ethereum chain and then sending the summary proofs back to the mainnet.
Mini dictionary: Arbitrum, a leading Ethereum layer-2 rollup solution, enables greater scalability for decentralized applications by using off-chain processing while maintaining compatibility with Ethereum smart contracts.
Growth fueled by memecoins
A significant portion of Robinhood Chain’s activity centers around memecoins, which are often paired with thinly traded stocks. On the Bits + Bips podcast, host Austin Campbell highlighted an example involving FARMI, a Chinese dried mushroom company listed on Nasdaq with only 15 employees. Following the launch of a memecoin using its ticker, FARMI shares surged 350% in a single day, with 720 million shares trading hands—90 times the normal volume.
Perkins described the situation as “GameStop 2.0,” warning that “anyone playing is probably gonna lose money” and stated that market manipulation with such assets is illegal when they are considered commodities.
Campbell likened this activity to “bucket shops,” referencing entities that profit by exploiting thinly traded assets outside conventional market hours to push prices.
When questioned directly, Perkins refrained from supporting this aspect of Robinhood Chain. He characterized the equities-linked memecoin trend as more of a game than an investment, emphasizing the risks and reinforcing that decentralized chains enable such speculative behavior.
While discussing the permissiveness of the platform, Perkins noted, “people can do what people feel like doing,” describing it as an inherent feature of managing a decentralized blockchain.
This recent surge in memecoin trading has raised new questions about the responsibility of blockchain operators in overseeing market activity, especially when traditional equity tickers are involved in speculative crypto assets.
