Robinhood, the brokerage fintech, is reportedly developing a blockchain network to enable retail investors in Europe to trade US securities, as per a May 7 Bloomberg report. This move aims to expand the company’s local presence by offering trading of tokenized securities like stocks. Two crypto firms, Arbitrum and the Solana Foundation, are competing to partner in the project. Tokenization involves converting real-world assets into digital tokens for trading on a blockchain. Benefits of tokenizing securities include cost reduction by eliminating traditional financial infrastructure, increased accessibility, faster settlement times, and quicker transactions. Robinhood has been making strides to enter the European market by acquiring a brokerage license in Lithuania and purchasing crypto exchange Bitstamp. The company’s CEO, Vladimir Tenev, emphasized the power of quick coin creation and trading juxtaposed with the cumbersome IPO process. Robinhood’s shares rose 2.7% on the Nasdaq following the news. Traditional financial firms like Banco Santander and JP Morgan have also explored blockchain solutions. While no final agreement has been reached with Arbitrum or Solana, the potential project remains under wraps. This development signifies the growing interest in blockchain-based solutions among financial institutions globally.