Robinhood CEO: Tokenization Could Unlock Private Equity

Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev believes cryptocurrency tokenization could open the doors of private equity investing to retail traders, giving them access to high-growth tech companies that have traditionally been out of reach.

Speaking in a Bloomberg interview on Monday, Tenev contrasted the efficiency of crypto markets with the bureaucracy of traditional stock exchanges, emphasizing how easily digital assets can be created and traded.

“You can sit down in front of some software, create a coin, and have it be trading in five minutes,” Tenev explained, calling it both ‘scary’ and ‘powerful’.

He suggested that the same technology could be used to tokenize shares in private firms like OpenAI and SpaceX, making them accessible to retail investors who are currently locked out due to accreditation laws.

🚧 The Roadblocks to Tokenization

Currently, only accredited investors can buy shares in private tech giants, limiting opportunities for everyday investors to profit from the AI revolution.

“What can you invest in? Nvidia, and to some degree, Tesla,” Tenev pointed out.
“But no OpenAI, no Anthropic.”

Tokenizing private company shares would bring real-world assets (RWAs) on-chain, increasing liquidity and accessibility. However, regulatory uncertainty remains a significant hurdle.

Tenev emphasized that:

🔹 Accreditation and registration rules must be clear before platforms like Robinhood can list tokenized private equity.
🔹 Disclosure requirements are essential to help investors distinguish between high-quality firms like SpaceX and riskier startups.

📈 The Booming RWA Market

Despite regulatory challenges, the RWA tokenization market is already seeing massive growth.

🔹 CoinMarketCap data shows that top RWA tokens—including Chainlink (LINK), Avalanche (AVAX), and Hedera (HBAR)—have doubled their combined market cap in 2024, reaching $54.72 billion.
🔹 Experts predict that RWA tokenization could surpass $10 trillion by 2030, driven by the digitization of real estate, bonds, private equity, investment funds, and commodities.

💡 The Future: Decentralized Private Markets?

As blockchain adoption expands, tokenization could transform private equity investing, bridging the gap between traditional finance and decentralized assets.

If Tenev’s vision becomes reality, retail investors may soon be able to buy fractionalized shares in pre-IPO giants, breaking down barriers that have historically favored institutional players.

With the tokenization of real-world assets accelerating, the question isn’t if private equity will go on-chain—it’s when.