Robinhood Announces New Chain With Chainlink as Oracle Partner: Key Details

Robinhood launched a developers' version of its custom blockchain, called Robinhood Chain, on Feb. 10 with Chainlink serving as the oracle infrastructure provider. The testnet went live at the Consensus event in Hong Kong, marking the company's latest push into crypto-based financial services and tokenized versions of traditional stocks.

The new blockchain is an Ethereum Layer 2 built on Arbitrum technology and designed to support real-world assets. Infrastructure providers including Alchemy, Allium, Chainlink, LayerZero, and TRM are already integrating with Robinhood Chain ahead of a planned mainnet launch later this year.

What Is Robinhood Chain?

Robinhood Chain is a financial-grade Ethereum Layer 2 blockchain built on Arbitrum technology. The platform aims to accelerate the development of onchain financial services, starting with tokenized real-world and digital assets. Unlike many Layer 2 solutions that focus primarily on scaling Ethereum, Robinhood Chain was designed with specific use cases in mind.

"For us, it was never really about scaling Ethereum or doing faster transactions," said Johann Kerbrat, senior vice president and general manager of crypto at Robinhood, in an interview with CoinDesk. The company instead focuses on building infrastructure for tokenized asset platforms, lending platforms, and perpetual futures exchanges.

The blockchain uses Arbitrum, one of two dominant Layer 2 technologies in the Ethereum ecosystem. Arbitrum processes transactions in batches to make them cheaper and more efficient. The competing technology, Optimism, is used by Coinbase for its Base blockchain.

Infrastructure Partners And Technical Foundation

The testnet phase allows developers to build and test applications on Robinhood Chain before customer transactions begin processing on the mainnet version. This testing environment helps identify technical issues and improve network stability.

Chainlink's Role As Oracle Provider

Chainlink will provide data feeds, interoperability tools, and compliance standards to support advanced tokenization products on Robinhood Chain. Oracles are essential blockchain infrastructure that connect smart contracts to external data sources, enabling them to interact with real-world information like stock prices or market data.

The oracle infrastructure becomes particularly important for Robinhood's tokenized stock offerings, which need accurate, real-time pricing data from traditional financial markets. Chainlink announced the partnership on social media, stating that builders can leverage its data, interoperability, and compliance standards to power advanced tokenization use cases.

Additional Infrastructure Support

Beyond Chainlink, Robinhood Chain has secured partnerships with several major crypto infrastructure providers:

• Alchemy: Provides developer tools and infrastructure
• Allium: Offers blockchain data indexing services
• LayerZero: Enables cross-chain communication and interoperability
• TRM: Supplies blockchain intelligence and compliance tools

These partnerships provide the technical foundation needed for developers to build financial-grade applications on the network.

What's Available On The Public Testnet?

Developers can now access several features on the Robinhood Chain testnet. The platform provides network entry points to connect to the testnet environment and hosts developer documentation at docs.robinhood.com/chain. The blockchain maintains compatibility with standard Ethereum development tools, making it familiar for developers already working in the Ethereum and Arbitrum ecosystems.

In the coming months, developers will gain access to testnet-only assets, including Stock Tokens for integration testing. Direct testing with Robinhood Wallet will also become available, allowing developers to experiment with the full user experience before mainnet launch.

The testnet environment allows participants to experiment with applications, stress test infrastructure, and identify potential issues without risking real customer funds or assets. This approach follows standard blockchain development practices where testnets precede production launches.

Tokenized Assets And Real-World Applications

Robinhood already operates a tokenized stock service for European customers, launched in June 2025. The company offers exposure to more than 2,000 U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs with 24/5 trading. These tokens are currently issued on Arbitrum One, the main Arbitrum network.

According to data from Entropy Advisors on Dune Analytics, Robinhood has minted approximately $15 million in total value of equity tokens. This figure trails behind leading issuers like xStocks and Ondo Global Markets in the tokenized securities space.

The company plans to expand its tokenized stock offering to include round-the-clock trading, near-real-time settlement, and self-custody options. Users will be able to bridge assets across chains and interact with Ethereum-based decentralized finance applications through Robinhood Wallet.

Robinhood Chain supports seamless bridging and self-custody, with scalability and customizability designed for financial-grade decentralized products. The infrastructure enables developers to build various applications including tokenized asset platforms, lending platforms, and perpetual futures exchanges.

Timeline And Mainnet Launch Plans

The testnet phase represents a foundation-building stage before the mainnet launch scheduled for later in 2026. During this period, more infrastructure partners will onboard and developers will continue building and testing applications.

"The testnet for Robinhood Chain lays the groundwork for an ecosystem that will define the future of tokenized real-world assets and enable builders to tap into DeFi liquidity within the Ethereum ecosystem," said Kerbrat in a press release.

Steven Goldfeder, co-founder and CEO of Offchain Labs, which develops Arbitrum technology, expressed support for the project.

"With Arbitrum's developer-friendly technology, Robinhood Chain is well-positioned to help the industry deliver the next chapter of tokenization and permissionless financial services," he said.

The announcement came on the same day Robinhood reported fourth quarter 2025 earnings. The company posted a profit of $605 million, or 66 cents per share, beating analysts' estimate of 63 cents. However, weaker than expected revenue led shares to fall in after-hours trading.

Kerbrat noted that when the mainnet launches, customers will be able to interact directly with Robinhood Chain through both the self-custody crypto wallet and the main Robinhood app. He emphasized that the blockchain will operate as a seamless experience where many users will not realize they are using blockchain technology.

Conclusion

Robinhood Chain provides developers with infrastructure to build financial-grade applications on an Ethereum Layer 2 network. The testnet supports experimentation with tokenized assets, DeFi applications, and cross-chain functionality.

With Chainlink as the oracle provider and support from major infrastructure partners, the platform offers the technical foundation for developing tokenized securities and permissionless financial services. The mainnet launch later this year will determine whether Robinhood can compete effectively in the growing tokenization and DeFi infrastructure market.

Resources

1. Press release by Robinhood 1: Robinhood Chain Launches Public Testnet

2. Report by Fortune: Robinhood launches test version of its own blockchain

3. Report by The Block: Robinhood launches public testnet for blockchain built on Arbitrum

4. Report by CoinDesk: Robinhood starts testing its own blockchain as crypto and tokenization push deepens

5. Press release by Robinhood 2: Robinhood Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Results