Robinhood Builds Its Own Ethereum L2 as Vitalik Buterin Expresses Scaling Concerns

In a defining industry move, the popular trading platform Robinhood is developing its proprietary Ethereum Layer-2 (L2) blockchain, named "Robinhood Chain." This strategic initiative aims to enhance scalability and reduce transaction costs for its massive user base. The development coincides with Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin's recent critical commentary on the current L2 ecosystem. Buterin highlighted issues like centralization risks and complex security models in some rollups, urging a refocus on core scaling and decentralization principles. This contrast underscores a pivotal moment: while a major fintech giant invests heavily in L2 technology to onboard millions, Ethereum's visionary founder advocates for a more cautious and principled evolution of the scaling landscape. Robinhood's chain, leveraging the Cosmos SDK and connected to Ethereum via an Optimistic Rollup, signifies a major bet on integrating decentralized finance (DeFi) with mainstream trading.