Bernstein analysts raised their price target for Robinhood Markets this week, pointing to the company's push into blockchain infrastructure as a key driver. The move reflects growing confidence in Robinhood's plan to offer tokenized equities and its own Arbitrum-based Robinhood Chain.
The blockchain strategy
Robinhood has been quietly building out a blockchain stack that goes beyond simple crypto trading. The centerpiece is the Robinhood Chain, built on Arbitrum, which is designed to handle tokenized versions of traditional stocks. Users would be able to trade fractional ownership of equities on-chain, settling faster than the legacy T+2 system.
Bernstein's analysts noted that this strategy could shift Robinhood's revenue mix away from the volatile swings of crypto trading volumes. Instead of just collecting spreads on dogecoin and bitcoin, the company could earn fees from a broader asset base — including tokenized Apple, Amazon, and S&P 500 ETFs.
Why the price target moved
Bernstein didn't just slap a new number on the stock. The upgrade is tied directly to Robinhood's blockchain roadmap. The analysts argued that if Robinhood can execute on tokenized equities, it opens up a new addressable market that's orders of magnitude larger than the crypto spot market alone.
The timing is notable. Crypto trading volumes have been choppy all year, and Robinhood's earnings have swung with them. A steady stream of tokenized equity trades would smooth that out — and the market is pricing that in now.
Robinhood is expected to roll out the first tokenized equity products later this quarter, with the Arbitrum chain already in testnet. The company hasn't named specific issuers or regulators yet, but the SEC's recent guidance on tokenized securities — released earlier this month — gives a clearer path forward.
Whether the strategy actually reduces reliance on crypto trading depends on adoption. If retail investors embrace on-chain stocks, Robinhood could become a serious bridge between traditional finance and DeFi. If they don't, the new infrastructure might just sit idle. Either way, Bernstein is betting on the former.
