Prediction: Robinhood Will Launch Tokenized Stock Trading in the U.S. Before the End of 2027

The Securities and Exchange Commission just handed Robinhood Markets (NASDAQ:HOOD) something its CEO has campaigned for since the start of 2025. On Sept. 17, the agency issued what it calls an "Innovation Exemption," an order that lets qualifying venues trade tokenized versions of U.S. stocks for five years without registering as stock exchanges. Robinhood shares climbed 5% that day, and, as of this writing, the growth stock trades at about $120.

However, the order only covers tokens that give holders the same rights as the real shares. The stock tokens Robinhood sells overseas today don't -- the company's own product disclosures refer to its European tokens as "derivative contracts" that track stock prices "without granting rights to them."

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Can Robinhood build a version that qualifies, and have it trading in the U.S. before the end of 2027? I think it can.

The order lets what the SEC calls tokenized securities venues match buyers and sellers of tokenized U.S. stocks with the automated liquidity pools widely used in crypto markets. The relief is temporary, and the SEC says it will consider additional changes in the meantime.

The conditions are the interesting part. A venue has to verify every token it lists carries the same rights and privileges as the conventional shares -- dividends and votes included. A company also gets written notice and a chance to object before a venue starts trading a version of its stock tokenized by a third party.

And trading starts small by design: the order caps symbols and volume, and a venue must publish its plans publicly at least 30 days before launching.

Robinhood's existing tokens wouldn't qualify

Robinhood launched its stock tokens in Europe in mid-2025 and has since expanded them to more than 120 countries. The more recent versions, structured as debt securities, trade around the clock on the tech company 's own blockchain network. And they are not available to U.S. customers.

But they're not stock. Holders can earn the equivalent of dividends when eligible, but they do not own the underlying shares and cannot vote them. The SEC's definition of tokenized stock excludes exactly that structure -- tokens that offer only "synthetic exposure" to a security.