The absence of clear regulatory guidance for crypto assets creates uncertainty for developers and businesses, stifling innovation and investment in the sector. It also limits consumer participation in opportunities like staking, leaving individuals with fewer safe and reliable ways to engage with the evolving digital economy.
Robinhood is committed to complying with all applicable state and federal regulations and continues to collaborate with regulators and policymakers to establish a clear path forward.
We are encouraged by the bipartisan efforts of Congress and the Trump Administration to provide greater clarity to the regulation of digital asset markets, and appreciate the progress that has been made.
Digital asset market participants in the U.S., including Robinhood, are currently navigating a fragmented and challenging regulatory landscape. This environment is marked by inconsistent state regulations and a lack of federal clarity, creating barriers to broader adoption of digital asset products in the U.S. We appreciate legislative and federal agency efforts to bring clarity to the regulation of digital asset markets, which will allow for greater innovation.
In 2025, the landmark Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act (GENIUS Act) was signed into law, marking the first major federal legislation governing digital assets in the United States. We are encouraged by continued efforts to legislate on crypto market structure in the House and Senate. Today, it remains unclear which digital assets are considered securities versus commodities by the SEC and CFTC, and there is no clear path to registration for token issuers and crypto platforms under the federal securities laws. The lack of federal regulatory clarity has created an uneven playing field for market participants, hindering the broader adoption of digital asset products and services in the U.S. Legislation is needed to clarify security status, establish federal registration for platforms facilitating digital asset trading, set standards around secondary market trading, and combat illicit finance in the digital asset space. Robinhood is committed to helping advance a more transparent and tailored regulatory environment for digital assets, and we are supportive of Congress’s legislative efforts.
Robinhood disagrees with the argument that transactions in most digital assets are subject to the federal securities laws. While Congress works on passing comprehensive legislation, however, the SEC must provide firms with immediate clarity and a straightforward path to registration should the agency consider certain types of transactions in specific tokens to be securities transactions. We support the efforts of the SEC’s Crypto Task Force to gather industry expertise to help develop a “comprehensive and clear regulatory framework for crypto assets,” and the multiple workstreams launched by the agency to achieve that goal under Project Crypto. In the absence of immediate legislative action, the SEC can use its authority under Section 36 of the Securities Exchange Act to implement a provisional structure that allows crypto firms to register and operate with clear expectations. As our Chief Legal, Compliance, and Corporate Affairs Officer Dan Gallagher highlighted in his congressional testimony, this approach would establish essential guidelines—such as registration, custody, record-keeping, consumer protection, and reporting requirements—reducing the regulatory ambiguity currently facing the industry. The implementation of a tailored, transparent registration process can provide much-needed clarity and stability, while fostering innovation. We also support the SEC’s and CFTC’s commitment to coordination and harmonization to ensure that regulatory boundaries are clear with respect to crypto.
While a temporary SEC framework and coordination with the CFTC would provide immediate relief and clarity, only Congress can establish a comprehensive, tailored, and enduring regulatory structure for digital assets. Robinhood supports ongoing legislative efforts, such as the draft bills from the House Financial Services and Agriculture Committees, which aim to define a clear, balanced framework that encourages growth and safeguards investor protections. A dual approach—a provisional SEC framework paired with permanent Congressional legislation—would provide a balanced solution. This approach would safeguard investors, support U.S. competitiveness, and allow for responsible growth in digital assets, ensuring that innovation in crypto can continue to develop under a clear and fair regulatory framework. Learn more about Crypto at Robinhood here.
Tokenization has the potential to transform financial markets by converting real-world assets (RWAs), such as stocks, ETFs, or other assets, into digital tokens that can be traded on blockchain-based platforms. Tokenization introduces a wide range of benefits, including streamlined settlement, lower frictional costs, fractionalization, 24/7 trading, and, if coupled with reforms such as expanding the “accredited investor” definition, the ability to open private markets to retail investors.Despite these clear benefits, the lack of regulatory clarity in the U.S. hinders tokenization’s broader adoption. There continues to be uncertainty around the registration, secondary trading, and custody of tokenized assets, as well as ambiguities in asset classification. A cohesive, transparent framework would allow the U.S. to responsibly unlock tokenization’s potential, enabling innovation to flourish while maintaining robust investor protections. We are encouraged by SEC staff-level guidance and no-action relief issued in 2025 addressing some of these issues, and will continue to engage with the agency to enable trading of tokenized equities in the US. In 2025, Johann Kerbrat, our Senior Vice President and General Manager of Robinhood Crypto, participated in the Crypto Task Force’s roundtable on tokenization. Additionally, Coy Garrison, our Deputy General Counsel for Crypto, joined the Investor Advisory Committee for a panel discussion on the tokenization of equities. To learn more about our vision for unlocking tokenization’s potential, read here.