Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev on Fintech, Regulation, and Markets
Vlad Tenev, co-founder and CEO of Robinhood, continues to lead the commission-free trading platform through a new growth phase in 2025. In 2024, Robinhood reported record user engagement with over 25 million monthly active users and $105 billion in assets under custody. Tenev led the launch of Robinhood Gold Retirement accounts, crypto staking features, and the rollout of international equity trading in the EU and UK. Robinhood also acquired a small AI-based portfolio optimizer startup to enhance user experience.
Tenev, a Bulgarian-American and Stanford graduate in mathematics, co-founded Robinhood in 2013 with Baiju Bhatt. The platform disrupted Wall Street by eliminating trading fees and democratizing access to stocks and crypto for retail investors. Despite public criticism during the GameStop short squeeze saga in 2021, Tenev has since focused on rebuilding trust, improving transparency, and expanding product offerings. His leadership continues to shape the interface between tech, finance, and regulatory innovation.
Builders can embed stock tokens or RWA in apps, Vlad Tenev notes
Vlad Tenev, co-founder & CEO at Robinhood, is encouraging developers who want to integrate stock tokens or real-world assets (RWA) into their applications to reach out. The statement signals ...
Vlad Tenev: Robinhood Chain mainnet launch shows fast ecosystem growth
Vlad Tenev, co-founder & CEO at Robinhood, highlighted the rapid growth of ecosystems enabled by exceptional engineering following the launch of the Robinhood Chain mainnet. He credited the ...
Investment returns are hypothetical and risks remain, Vlad Tenev warns
Vlad Tenev, co-founder & CEO at Robinhood, cautions that all investing carries risk, including the potential loss of principal. He references a hypothetical example featuring bi-weekly ...
Vlad Tenev: Robinhood chain aims for RWA while supporting memes
Vlad Tenev, co-founder & CEO at Robinhood, highlights that Robinhood chain is being developed to excel in real-world asset (RWA) applications and also functions well for memes. This statement ...
More than 50,000 children have funded Robinhood custodial accounts, Vlad Tenev notes
Vlad Tenev, co-founder & CEO at Robinhood, announced that more than 50,000 children now have funded custodial accounts through the Robinhood platform just three months after launch. Tenev also ...
Vlad Tenev: Robinhood Securities approved as underwriter, retail now central in IPO planning
Vlad Tenev, co-founder & CEO at Robinhood, announced that Robinhood Securities has received approval to act as an underwriter. According to Tenev, since IPO Access launched in 2021, retail ...
PDT rule removed for traders, Vlad Tenev confirms
Vlad Tenev, co-founder & CEO at Robinhood, announces the end of the pattern day trader (PDT) rule for the platform. Tenev highlights that Robinhood worked with regulators and industry partners to ...
Vlad Tenev: Robinhood completes WonderFi acquisition to enter Canadian crypto market
Vlad Tenev, co-founder & CEO at Robinhood, announced the company has completed its acquisition of WonderFi, a leading Canadian crypto platform. This milestone marks Robinhood's entry into the ...
TrumpAccounts app reaches top spot in finance category, Vlad Tenev notes
Vlad Tenev, co-founder & CEO at Robinhood, highlighted that the TrumpAccounts app reached the top position in the finance category and placed fourth overall in the App Store on its launch day. ...
Vlad Tenev: Robinhood aims to expand retail investor access to IPOs
Vlad Tenev, co-founder & CEO at Robinhood, reflected on launching IPO Access five years ago and how it enabled retail investors to participate in significant IPOs, a rare opportunity at the time. ...
Robinhood Ventures invests on company cap tables, Vlad Tenev notes
Vlad Tenev, co-founder & CEO at Robinhood, emphasizes the importance of trust in private markets. He states that Robinhood Ventures ensures access by investing directly on the cap table of ...
Vlad Tenev: RVI surpasses $1 billion in market cap milestone
Vlad Tenev, co-founder & CEO at Robinhood, announced that RVI has crossed the $1 billion mark in market capitalization. He attributed this milestone to everyday investors and innovative companies ...
Robinhood Retirement reaches $31 billion in assets, Vlad Tenev notes
Vlad Tenev, co-founder & CEO at Robinhood, reports that Robinhood Retirement now manages $31 billion in assets under custody after a little over three years of operation. Tenev expresses pride in ...
Vlad Tenev: Robinhood Ventures aims to democratize private markets
Vlad Tenev, Co-founder & CEO at Robinhood, announced that Robinhood Ventures marks a significant advance in the company’s mission to democratize finance for all by opening up private markets to ...
Retail investors gaining access to private firms is key, Vlad Tenev states
Vlad Tenev advocates for broader democratization of finance, emphasizing the importance of allowing retail investors to participate in generation-defining private companies such as OpenAI. Tenev ...
Vlad Tenev: Industry at turning point as Congress mulls yield on stablecoins
Vlad Tenev argues that the digital asset industry stands at a momentous turning point, hinging on regulatory certainty. He points to the potential impact of the CLARITY Act in Congress, which ...
Robinhood Ventures Fund I expands with Stripe and ElevenLabs, Vlad Tenev notes
Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev announced two new additions to the Robinhood Ventures Fund I (RVI) portfolio: Stripe and ElevenLabs. Tenev emphasized that the fund aims to make exposure to companies ...
Vlad Tenev: Robinhood Banking reaches $1 billion in customer deposits
Robinhood Banking has surpassed $1 billion in deposits from 65,000 funded customers, according to Vlad Tenev. Tenev described this as a major milestone and noted that the company is just getting ...
Robinhood launches Ventures Fund I to broaden financial opportunity, Vlad Tenev says
Robinhood marked a key milestone on Friday by ringing the Opening Bell at the New York Stock Exchange. In a statement on social media, Vlad Tenev highlighted the evolving growth environment as ...
Vlad Tenev transforms Robinhood into a financial SuperApp
Vlad Tenev is taking major steps to transform Robinhood into what he describes as a financial SuperApp. The aim is to integrate services like expert assistance for taxes, estate planning, and ...
Vlad Tenev launches mortgage benefits for Robinhood Gold subscribers
Vlad Tenev, co-founder of Robinhood, has announced the nationwide availability of mortgage benefits for all eligible annual Robinhood Gold subscribers. This initiative promises access to some of ...
