Robinhood and Interactive Brokers Both Ride Retail Volume. Only One Earns on Idle Cash.

Stock tokens, digital representations of traditional shares on a blockchain, are being introduced in the US. Proponents argue they improve trading speed and efficiency, while critics raise concerns about risks and limited benefits for individual investors. The SEC has set guidelines for their trading, requiring approval from companies and granting the same rights as traditional shares. AMC and Robinhood recently clashed over tokenized AMC shares.

AMC CEO Adam Aron praised the SEC's innovation exemption for tokenized equities, which grants temporary relief for trading tokenized stocks. The exemption allows issuers to veto third-party tokenization and requires tokenized shares to carry the same rights as underlying stocks. The order follows a dispute between AMC and Robinhood over unauthorized tokenization of AMC shares. Industry experts highlighted the implications for tokenized equity markets and future regulatory developments.

Bitcoin surged to $86,534.71, a 6.6% increase in 24 hours, triggering short-seller liquidations. Ether, Solana, XRP, and crypto-related stocks like Coinbase (COIN) and MicroStrategy (MSTR) also rose. A short squeeze contributed to the rally, with $1.54 billion in long liquidation exposure below current prices and $1.25 billion in short exposure above.

Robinhood Markets (HOOD) shares rose 3% on Monday, outperforming the S&P 500, driven by a cryptocurrency price boom and a positive analyst note. Analyst Gautam Chhugani highlighted Robinhood's involvement in tokenized stocks, which could benefit from recent SEC guidance, according to Bernstein SocGen.

Polymarket faces a CFTC probe and fraud attempts, with employees raising concerns. Kalshi, a rival, is scrutinized for unusual Ethereum perpetual futures trading. Intercontinental Exchange invested $1.6B in Polymarket, valued at $21B. Robinhood (HOOD) earned $156M from event contracts, some routed through Kalshi.

Robinhood shares rose 4% as Bitcoin neared $85,000, boosting crypto-linked stocks. The SEC's new 'Innovation Exemption' may aid Robinhood's tokenized asset plans, though regulatory uncertainty persists. HOOD's record high of $150 is a key target, driven by crypto rebound and SEC rules.