TL;DR
- Tenev said legislative gridlock blocks staking and keeps U.S. crypto features uneven, despite strong customer demand on Robinhood, and urged the U.S. to lead.
- He noted staking is unavailable in California, Maryland, New Jersey and Wisconsin, and tokenized stocks are available to European customers only.
- The Senate Banking Committee delayed markup after Coinbase withdrew support; Tim Scott called it a brief pause, and HOOD closed at $119.67.
Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev is pressing Congress to move faster on crypto rules, arguing that “legislative gridlock” is already shaping what customers can and cannot do on the platform. He said staking is one of Robinhood’s most requested features, yet it is unavailable in some U.S. jurisdictions because lawmakers have not delivered clear guardrails. His frustration underlines a basic reality: regulatory delay is now a product constraint, not an abstract debate. For Robinhood, the cost shows up as uneven access across regions and a growing gap between demand and delivery.
Policy bottlenecks collide with product demand
Tenev pointed to specific friction points: staking is currently not available in California, Maryland, New Jersey, and Wisconsin due to state regulations, even as customers keep asking for it. He also lamented that tokenized stocks are accessible to Robinhood’s European customers but not to users at home. The message is that innovation is already happening inside the business, but the U.S. rulebook is not keeping pace. He said it is time for the U.S. to lead on crypto policy and to pass legislation that protects consumers and unlocks innovation. He called it untenable.
His comments landed as the Senate Banking Committee delayed a planned markup again this week of a crypto market structure bill, after Coinbase said it would not support the current version. Tenev nevertheless voiced support for Congress’s effort, while acknowledging there is still work to be done. Committee Chair Sen. Tim Scott said the panel is taking a “brief pause,” but stressed that all stakeholders remain at the table and are working in good faith. In governance terms, the bill is not dead, but the timetable is sliding and the coalition is being stress-tested.
Investors also got a live read on sentiment. Robinhood shares fell 0.98% in after-hours trading after closing 0.47% lower at $119.67 during Wednesday’s session, as the policy headlines circulated. For Robinhood, the operating thesis is clear: demand exists for staking and tokenized assets, but availability will track what lawmakers and states permit. The next catalyst is legislative clarity that lets product teams scale features consistently across the U.S. without patchwork exclusions. Until then, Tenev’s critique functions as both lobbying and roadmap, with timing risk now sitting squarely on Capitol Hill.
