Robinhood Chain logs $51.11M in Q3 fees as Ethereum collects $69,170, Bitwise says
In brief
- Robinhood Chain generated an estimated $51.11 million in first-quarter fees, Bitwise says.
- Robinhood retained about $45.93 million, nearly 90%, before operating expenses.
- Ethereum incurred $69,170 in settlement fees; Arbitrum's ecosystem received about $5.11 million.
- Tokenized stock volume on the chain hit $14.05 billion for the quarter.
Where the fees went
Bitwise's estimates put almost all of the money with the operator. Robinhood retained an estimated $45.93 million, or nearly 90% of the total, while the Arbitrum ecosystem received about $5.11 million for providing the underlying technology. Ethereum's cut was $69,170 in settlement fees.
That isn't profit, though. Robinhood's retained revenue was still subject to infrastructure, development and other operating expenses, and none of those costs are netted out in Bitwise's figures.
Volume, tokens and TVL
The chain recorded $14.05 billion in tokenized stock trading volume in the quarter. Monthly volume went from $526 million in July to $2.21 billion in August, then $11.31 billion in September (more than twentyfold growth in three months). The number of Robinhood Stock Tokens doubled from 96 to 193 over that stretch. Nvidia-linked tokens led quarterly trading with $2.5 billion, while SPY tokens ($1.55 billion) and SpaceX tokens ($1.51 billion) came next.
The wider market moved too. Token Terminal data showed weekly DEX volume for tokenized stocks rose 447% after the launch, from an average of $627 million to $3.4 billion. DeFi TVL on Robinhood Chain has climbed above $1.14 billion, according to DeFiLlama, up from about $1.03 billion at the end of September.
The case for running your own chain
Token Terminal noted that Robinhood has a market valuation of roughly $100 billion and about $5 billion in annual revenue. It's arguing that as blockchain revenue grows as a share of Robinhood's business, other financial services companies will increasingly consider launching their own networks.
That's Token Terminal's view, not a given.
Smaller Ethereum layer-2 operators like Abstract, Silicon and Blast have struggled to justify their operating costs, CryptoSlate reported. Abstract plans to shut down its network on Dec. 15 after stagnant growth and weak revenue (it attracted more than 400,000 users and 144 apps, but its operator reported losing tens of millions of dollars supporting it). Blast has also announced a shutdown after maintenance expenses exceeded revenue.
For Ethereum, Bitwise's numbers show a big gap between what the layer-2 earned and what the base layer collected: $51.11 million on Robinhood Chain against $69,170 in settlement fees.
Frequently asked questions
How much did Ethereum earn from Robinhood Chain in the third quarter?
Ethereum incurred $69,170 in settlement fees from Robinhood Chain during the quarter, according to Bitwise's Oct. 20 staking report. That compares with $51.11 million in total transaction fees the layer-2 generated over the same period.
Is Robinhood's $45.93 million share of fees profit?
No. Bitwise estimated Robinhood retained $45.93 million, or nearly 90% of the $51.11 million in fees, but that figure is before operating expenses. The retained revenue was still subject to infrastructure, development and other operating costs.
Why are some Ethereum layer-2 networks shutting down?
Smaller layer-2 operators including Abstract, Silicon and Blast have struggled to justify their operating costs, CryptoSlate reported. Abstract plans to shut down on Dec. 15 after stagnant growth and weak revenue, and Blast announced a shutdown after maintenance expenses exceeded revenue.
