Robinhood’s tokenized stock trading is already reaching levels that could eventually run into limits under the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s new rules for tokenized equities.
Johann Kerbrat, Robinhood’s senior vice president and general manager of crypto and international, said the company is still studying the conditions attached to the SEC’s new five-year innovation exemption.
He said the exemption places limits on both the number of stocks that can be tokenized and the amount of trading volume allowed.
“We’re still trying to understand all the parameters of it,” Kerbrat said during an interview at Korea Blockchain Week 2026. He added that Robinhood’s current stock-token volume is already high enough that some of the limits could become relevant.
The SEC introduced the exemption on Sept. 17. It allows qualifying platforms to offer tokenized U.S. stocks through certain automated market makers and liquidity pools without registering as traditional exchanges, as long as they follow specific conditions.
The trading limits depend on the type of stock.
Tier 1 tokenized stocks are limited to 75 different symbols and 0.25% of the underlying stock’s average daily trading volume from the previous month.
Tier 2 products can include up to 250 symbols and are limited to 2.5% of the underlying stock’s average daily trading volume.
The SEC categories are based on the existing Limit Up Limit Down system. Tier 1 generally includes companies in the S&P 500 and Russell 1000, along with certain exchange-traded products. Other eligible U.S. stocks fall into Tier 2.
If a platform repeatedly exceeds the volume limit for a particular tokenized stock, trading in that product can be suspended for three months. The first violation does not automatically trigger the suspension, but the platform must stay within the limit afterward.
Robinhood had already seen significant activity around tokenized stocks before the SEC introduced the exemption.
In August, tokenized stock trading through Uniswap on Robinhood Chain reportedly reached $1 billion. At that time, Robinhood’s Stock Tokens were still unavailable to U.S. investors.
Kerbrat said the limits could become important as Robinhood’s activity grows, but he also viewed the SEC’s decision as a sign that regulators are becoming more open to bringing traditional stocks onto blockchain networks.
Robinhood wants to expand its tokenized stock offering and eventually cover a broader range of U.S. stocks and ETFs.
However, the company’s existing Stock Tokens do not have exactly the same structure as the tokenized stocks covered by the SEC exemption.
Robinhood currently offers its Stock Tokens through Robinhood Wallet in more than 120 countries, but they are not available to U.S. customers. The products are structured as debt securities issued by Robinhood Assets Jersey Limited and are backed by shares linked to the assets they track.
Under the SEC’s framework, qualifying tokenized U.S. stocks must provide investors with the same rights and privileges as traditional shares. That includes economic rights as well as voting and other shareholder rights.
Robinhood has already said it plans to add some of these features to its Stock Tokens.
Kerbrat and CEO Vlad Tenev said the company plans to introduce voting rights and in-kind redemption.
The issue received additional attention after AMC Entertainment CEO Adam Aron criticized Robinhood’s AMC-linked token and said his company had not approved the product.
Robinhood has maintained that issuer approval is not required under its current structure. Investors in its AMC token receive economic exposure to the stock but do not directly own AMC shares or receive the voting rights attached to those shares.
Kerbrat said Robinhood had been working on voting rights and in-kind redemption before the dispute with AMC’s CEO.
Robinhood’s broader tokenization push began with the launch of Robinhood Chain in July, as the company started developing infrastructure designed to bring traditional financial assets onto blockchain networks.
At the same time, Robinhood is preparing to launch another blockchain-based trading product in the United States.
The company announced plans on Sept. 29 to offer crypto perpetual futures to eligible U.S. customers covering eight cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin, Ether, Solana, XRP, Dogecoin, Cardano, Chainlink and Hyperliquid.
Bitcoin and Ether contracts will offer leverage of up to 10x, while the other six cryptocurrencies will have leverage of up to 3x.
Kerbrat said Robinhood selected those leverage levels itself. The company has not decided whether it will increase them later. Any changes will depend on customer trading activity and available market liquidity.
Robinhood plans to use a global waterfall clearing system for the new perpetual futures. The company also plans to calculate funding rates continuously rather than recalculating them every 15 minutes, as some competing platforms do.
The planned U.S. crypto perpetual futures will initially carry a 0.01% trading fee through the end of 2026 and will be offered through Robinhood Derivatives using Bitstamp infrastructure.
Kerbrat did not give details about other derivatives Robinhood may introduce in the U.S. in 2027.
The company has seen demand for commodity and ETF perpetual futures in Europe, but there are currently no plans to introduce single-stock perpetual futures for U.S. customers.
Robinhood already offers multi-leg options strategies, which can give traders ways to build more complex positions without using single-stock perpetual contracts.
For the planned crypto perpetual futures, any decision to increase leverage will depend on how customers use the products and how much liquidity develops after launch.
