In a remarkable first week, Robinhood Chain, the company’s new layer 2 blockchain, collected more than $70 million worth of Ether (ETH) via relay transactions. According to Token Terminal data, the network launched on July 1 and quickly attracted significant capital.
The chain is built on Arbitrum technology and is fully compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). Unlike some other layer 2 networks, it uses ETH as its native gas token, meaning that each transaction on the network requires a small amount of ETH to pay for processing. Robinhood described the channel as “AI-native and purpose-built for real-world assets,” suggesting a focus beyond just crypto trading.
Token Terminal noted that if this early adoption continues, the chain could become a significant source of new demand for ETH. The timing seems good. Robinhood has also expanded into tokenized stocks, offering them to customers in more than 120 countries. Demand for tokenized U.S. stocks is growing, and Ethereum (with its Layer 2 scaling networks) currently holds more than 50% of the real-world tokenized asset (RWA) market, according to RWA.xyz. Robinhood’s move could help consolidate that lead.
Turning Liquidity into Business
Token Terminal followed up with another observation: “Robinhood Chain is rapidly transforming liquidity into economic activity.” The figures confirm it. In its first week, the channel reached 194,000 daily active users and saw daily revenue reach $39,000, which translates to an annualized revenue run rate of approximately $14 million.
Decentralized financial data platform DefiLlama reports similar activity. It shows that Robinhood Chain has a total value locked (TVL) of approximately 46,748 ETH, worth approximately $83 million at current prices. On Thursday alone, there were inflows of 31,855 ETH, or approximately $55 million.
Uniswap founder Hayden Adams commented on Friday, noting that most activity on Robinhood Chain is denominated in ETH. He explained that ETH serves as the base trading pair, the largest asset, and the gas token to pay for block space. “It also burns ETH on L1 to pay for data storage fees,” he added.
Market reactions and wider implications
Andri Fauzan Adziima, research manager at Bitrue Research Institute, called the first volume “strongly bullish” and said it validates the layer 2 flywheel, creating a “significant new demand well.” Tim Sun, senior researcher at HashKey Group, agrees. “For Ethereum, the most direct benefit is that Robinhood Chain uses ETH for gas. As bridged assets, wallet addresses and on-chain transactions increase, new demand for ETH is generated,” he said.
The bulls underscore Ethereum’s long-term growth thesis, which is built on tokenization of real-world assets, institutional adoption, agentic AI payments, and upcoming network upgrades like Glamsterdam, expected before the end of 2026. This upgrade is designed to increase layer 1 capacity.
Despite all this positive activity, ETH prices have remained stuck at bear market lows in several years. On Friday, ETH rose slightly to $1,775, but that still represents a 64% decline from its August 2025 high. This reminds us that even with strong on-chain activity, price can lag fundamentals for a while.
