Crypto continues to drive change in traditional finance as major players introduce bold new products. At a venue famed for its cinematic past, BeInCrypto spoke with Johann Kerbrat, Robinhood Crypto’s Senior Vice President and General Manager, about the platform’s ambitious product expansions.
This article is based on an exclusive interview conducted by BeInCrypto with Johann Kerbrat during EthCC 2025.
From tokenized US stock trading in Europe to pioneering a layer-2 blockchain, Robinhood is reshaping access to both crypto and equities.
Kerbrat brings extensive experience steering Robinhood’s crypto initiatives. The discussion took place at the legendary site where Alfred Hitchcock filmed “To Catch a Thief,” underscoring the moment’s significance. Together, we explored why Robinhood is betting big on blockchain, the promise of tokenized assets, and how they’re striving to make complex technology seamless for users.
Kerbrat outlines Robinhood’s comprehensive approach: radical efficiency, broader inclusion, seamless integration, and a focus on user experience. The conversation addresses current trends, innovative offerings, and the deeper theme of making financial opportunities available to everyone, not just the privileged few.
The Vision Behind Robinhood’s All-In Crypto Expansion
We think that crypto is actually the way for us to rebuild the entire Robinhood in the EU from the ground up, just using blockchain technology. We think that blockchain technology can make things more efficient, faster, and also include more people.
For the user, it’s very simple; you will be able to tokenize any financial instrument in the future, not just US stocks, but anything. So we think that it’s going to be a major shift.
If you want to change brokers, you won’t have to wait multiple days and wonder where your stocks are going; you’ll be able to do it in an instant.
We think customers are going to love being able to access all their assets the way that they want. At the end of the day, we also think that it’s about inclusion, and thanks to tokenization, we can add more people on-chain.
Connecting Crypto Traders and Stock Tokenization
Crypto traders are just at the end of the day traders that are really excited about the technology, and I think when the Circle IPO happened, a lot of people were excited about the fact that for the first time, there is this stablecoin company that is going public. We saw it with other stocks as well.
I think a lot of people are excited to support the companies that are building the technologies of tomorrow, and we do wanna match the customer enthusiasm around crypto technology, and we’ve seen it in the past 5-6 years.
We launched crypto in 2018. Initially, we only had a few features, and now we have just announced all of these big new features, so it really shows that the company is committed to crypto overall.
Robinhood’s Layer-2: Building for Product Innovation and Integration
We thought about it for a very long time. We discussed the idea of opening our own layer and using one existing layer.
I think what we’re really excited about is being able to build exactly what we need to offer. Some of these brand new products that we launch are very innovative, so stock tokens, for example, require a lot of compliance and regulation.
Robinhood layer-2 is built on Arbitrum right now, and then we’re going to launch our own chain.
We think people will love it because it will be integrated with the Robinhood ecosystem. Then, we’ll be able to offer a lot more products than the one we announced today.
Self-Custody and Expanding Asset Options
Right now, when we’re launching it, it’s not yet an option. But as you saw in the demo earlier, this was coming from a self-custodial wallet, so we are about to launch it in the future for our customers.
That’s the beauty of having multiple companies like us building the same type of products; you always see differences.
I think what makes us unique is that our UX and UI are pretty innovative. You saw some of the new products that we launched.
For example, Crypto Perpetual Futures has this system that allows you to set your profit, take profit, or set your stop loss in a very simple way, and compared to all the competition, this is probably one of the best UIs out there.
I think that’s what we want to bring to every product we build. Either the best-in-class type of pricing or the best-in-class UI UX.
Conclusion
Johann Kerbrat’s vision for Robinhood transcends traditional finance and crypto boundaries, aiming to create a seamless experience for users across both worlds. Tokenization, democratized access to private equity, user-friendly staking, and an integrated blockchain infrastructure are central to this philosophy.
Robinhood bets on efficiency, inclusion, and innovation while keeping the technology behind the scenes, letting users focus on opportunities rather than complexity. As Robinhood continues this expansion, the benefits of blockchain could soon feel as effortless and accessible as today’s stock trading, helping a broader swathe of users access the future of finance.
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