As investment brokerage Robinhood finds its footing as a publicly traded company, its CEO is still trying to figure out how to balance the platform's roots in day trading with his desire to build a sustainable business.
Speaking at Fortune's Brainstorm Tech conference on Monday, Vladimir Tenev reflected on his rocky tenure leading the 10-year-old company, from startup darling to villain of the GameStop meme stock debacle in 2021. After stock market tumult sent Robinhood's shares plunging shortly after an initial public offering, Tenev said that the platform is finally reaching its stride. Part of that can be attributed to the company's investment in one of the most volatile assets: crypto.
While Robinhood has let customers trade crypto since 2018, it has moved further into the space in the past couple of years, including launching crypto trading in Europe and acquiring the longstanding exchange Bitstamp for $200 million in June. Tenev said he sees a clear benefit in doubling down on the sector, which he described as more than just memecoins and speculation.
"The cost of running a crypto business is an order of magnitude lower," he told Fortune editor-in-chief Alyson Shontell on stage, citing the ability to leverage open-source infrastructure like blockchains. "There's just an obvious technology advantage."
Robinhood is not the only financial firm to push further into crypto-related businesses, with legacy companies from BlackRock to Goldman Sachs experimenting with the red-hot field of tokenization, where assets from dollars to stocks are issued on blockchains. Tenev expressed his bullish view on the field, predicting it will represent the "next transition" for financial services, thanks to the ability to cut out expensive intermediaries like for trade settlement. "You don't have to squint too hard to imagine a world where stocks are on blockchains," he said.
Time for reflection
While Robinhood has stabilized to become a leading investing platform for younger traders, its future seemed tenuous in 2021, when the company stood at the center of the meme stock craze. After fueling its rise through risky offerings like options, Robinhood had to restrict customer trading during a brief period of market volatility in January 2021 due to capital shortfalls. And as public markets froze in 2022 and interest rates rose, Robinhood's stock dropped as much as 90% as it lost its core customer base.
Tenev said the company and its shares were able to recover somewhat by revisiting its core offerings, including the idea that all investors should be treated similarly. One change was to offer white-glove service to its power users, flipping Robinhood's core thesis of customer equality on its head.
The platform also transitioned from focusing on active trading to diversifying into other products, including retirement accounts, a credit card, and high-yield cash accounts. Still, Tenev said he still wants Robinhood to be able to compete with other brokerage platforms, and even banks, for all types of customers, including high-net-worth individuals. "The aspiration is for people like me to have all their wealth in Robinhood," he said.
Part of Tenev's journey over the past two years was also personal, including reflecting on what would happen if the board decided to replace him as CEO. Still, he credited his immigrant background—he was born in Bulgaria—and personality with allowing him to navigate the turmoil. "I have this pathological steadiness," he said. "It can be very off putting to people."
