Robinhood CEO urges US crypto market-structure bill as staking blocked in 4 states
Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev urged US lawmakers to pass a clear crypto market-structure bill after staking remains unavailable to customers in four states (California, Maryland, New Jersey, Wisconsin). Tenev said staking is one of the most requested features on Robinhood and blamed a patchwork of state rules and SEC enforcement for forcing firms to restrict products. He contrasted the US with the EU, where MiCA has provided legal certainty enabling services such as stock tokens. Tenev expressed support for the Senate’s market-structure bill and offered Robinhood’s help to the Senate Banking Committee to finalise rules that classify tokens as securities, commodities or otherwise. The appeal followed a Senate delay of the bill’s markup amid industry concerns — including from Coinbase — about provisions affecting tokenized equities, DeFi and stablecoin rewards. Separately, Tenev said AI is more likely to create jobs and innovation than eliminate employment. For traders: passage of a clear market-structure bill could expand access to staking and tokenized products, reduce regulatory-driven service outages, and attract institutional capital, but outcomes hinge on legislative details—overly permissive rules could raise investor-protection risks, while restrictive terms could continue to stifle product launches.
Neutral
Short-term: Neutral. The statement itself is a political and regulatory development rather than an immediate protocol or token upgrade; it signals potential for broader product availability but does not directly change network fundamentals or token issuance. Market reaction is likely to be muted or mixed — some traders may buy on hopes of expanded staking access and tokenized-products, while others may sell amid uncertainty about bill details and possible restrictive clauses. Volatility could increase around bill milestones (markup, votes). Long-term: Mildly bullish conditional. If Congress passes a market-structure bill that provides clear custody, licensing and token classification rules without onerous restrictions, firms like Robinhood could roll out staking and tokenized products nationwide. That would increase retail access to staking rewards and tokenized equities, potentially raising demand for proof-of-stake coins (e.g., ETH) and market liquidity, and could attract institutional capital. Conversely, a law that imposes strict limits or heavy compliance burdens could continue to suppress product launches and dampen growth. Overall, the net long-term impact depends on the bill’s final scope and balance between consumer protection and market access.