Robinhood (HOOD) equity-token activity has already reached a level that surpasses the restrictions established within the Securities and Exchange Commission’s innovation exemption for tokenized domestic equities, according to the platform’s digital asset leader.
Johann Kerbrat, Robinhood’s senior vice president and general manager of crypto and international, mentioned during an interview with The Block at Korea Blockchain Week 2026 that the organization is currently evaluating the SEC directive, characterizing it as an extensive text outlining thresholds on trading volume alongside permissible tokenized instruments.
“We are still attempting to grasp all of its terms,” Kerbrat stated. “There are caps concerning volume and the specific categories of assets we are permitted to tokenize. Examining our equity-token activity, the figures are already quite high and will bump into several of those ceilings.”
On September 17, the SEC introduced a five-year exemption enabling select domestic platforms to handle tokenized variants of publicly traded securities without registering as formal exchanges, subject to limits on ticker symbols and turnover alongside a mandate that these tokens preserve equivalent privileges to the underlying equities.
“Ultimately, I believe the vital takeaway conveyed by this exemption is that the SEC seeks to embrace tokenization and recognize its benefits,” Kerbrat noted. “Consequently, we remain dedicated to advancing broader utilization of stock tokens alongside expanded support for U.S. equities and exchange-traded funds.”
Stock tokens
Robinhood’s Stock Tokens, distributed as debt instruments via a Jersey-registered organization, are accessible across more than 120 nations utilizing the Robinhood Wallet, though they remain unavailable to domestic customers. The regulatory ruling addresses tokenized National Market System equities that maintain identical rights to the base shares, while mandating that platforms inform issuers who retain the right to contest them.
Kerbrat and Robinhood Chief Executive Officer Vlad Tenev both indicated earlier this month that they intend to introduce in-kind redemption as well as voting capabilities for stock tokens. Kerbrat informed The Block that these additions were scheduled prior to a public disagreement with AMC Entertainment CEO Adam Aron, noting that in-kind redemption was previously addressed during a July 1 gathering in London.
“If you examine the criticisms from the AMC CEO, they function primarily as a publicity stunt,” he remarked. “We stand firmly behind the legal architecture of our platforms.” The chief executive of AMC had denounced Robinhood’s equity tokens last month as illicit products, claiming the enterprise failed to secure proper authorization.
US perp futures
Simultaneously, Robinhood is launching crypto perpetual futures within domestic markets, as disclosed on September 29. The corporation intends to roll out perps trading stateside encompassing eight digital assets: BTC, ETH, SOL, XRP, DOGE, ADA, LINK, and HYPE.
“The mechanism relies on a global cascading clearing framework which certain newly operational venues, such as those partnering with Kalshi, failed to properly incorporate. That is truly the core differentiator,” Kerbrat explained, adding that the platform updates funding rates continuously rather than relying on the 15-minute intervals utilized by rival exchanges.
The application of 10x leverage for bitcoin (BTC) alongside ether (ETH), paired with 3x leverage across six alternative tokens, represented an independent strategic decision by Robinhood, Kerbrat clarified. Potential increases to domestic leverage caps remain undetermined, he added, relying on customer trading patterns and market liquidity growth.
Kerbrat declined to outline a derivatives roadmap for 2027 in the United States, though he highlighted that European markets have shown enthusiasm for commodity and exchange-traded fund perpetuals. He noted that Robinhood currently has no single-stock perpetual initiatives to announce, directing attention instead toward the company’s options segment where users already construct multi-legged investment strategies.
Originally published at https://www.theblock.co/news/regulation/2026-10-02-secs-innovation-exemption-robinhood-417538.
