Robinhood Proposes Federal Tokenization Framework, Targeting $30T Market

Robinhood has moved to reshape the U.S. financial infrastructure by proposing a national regulatory framework for tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) to the SEC. This move positions the brokerage firm at the forefront of a growing sector projected to reach $30 trillion by 2030. Robinhood’s proposal suggests treating tokenized assets, such as tokenized Treasury bonds or equities, as legally equivalent to their traditional counterparts. This equivalence would eliminate current legal uncertainties and allow institutions and broker-dealers to manage tokenized RWAs using existing regulatory frameworks, rather than operating under fragmented, state-level securities laws. By advocating for unified federal oversight, Robinhood aims to simplify compliance, reduce costs, and increase participation from both institutional and retail players. Introducing the Real-World Asset Exchange (RRE) As part of the proposal, Robinhood outlined plans to launch the Real-World Asset Exchange (RRE). This trading platform seeks to combine off-chain trade matching with on-chain settlement. It would utilize a dual-chain architecture on Solana and Base, enabling lightning-fast trade execution with sub-10-microsecond latency and up to 30,000 transactions per second. This technical setup could compress the standard settlement time from T+2 to T+0, potentially reducing trading costs by 30% annually. RRE would also integrate Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) tools through partners like Chainalysis and Jumio to meet global compliance standards. Legal Foundation for a Tokenized Future While the crypto industry has often seen technology outpace regulation, Robinhood’s proposal flips the script by starting with legal clarity. The proposal does not introduce new technology but anchors existing blockchain capabilities within a legally compliant framework that could serve both traditional finance and DeFi ecosystems. According to Mati Greenspan, founder of Quantum Economics, this could be the first viable path for a regulated U.S. broker to bring trillions of dollars in assets on-chain without compromising regulatory standards. Tokenization Momentum Builds Across the Industry Robinhood’s initiative comes amid a broader wave of tokenization efforts by financial heavyweights. Earlier this month, VanEck debuted its tokenized fund, VBILL, in partnership with Securitize. Targeting institutional and qualified investors, VBILL offers blockchain-based access to U.S. Treasury-backed yields with real-time settlement and 24/7 liquidity. Meanwhile, Franklin Templeton received approval from Singapore to launch the country’s first tokenized fund open to retail investors. With a minimum investment of just $20, the fund lowers entry barriers to institutional-grade money market instruments via blockchain. Additionally, MultiBank Group signed a $3 billion tokenization agreement with UAE real estate giant MAG and blockchain firm Mavryk. Eric Piscini, CEO of Hashgraph, emphasized that “the surge isn’t arbitrary,” but is driven by meaningful factors such as improving regulatory clarity, scalable technology, and increasing involvement from major industry players.