Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev Sees AI Startups Mirroring Bitcoin’s Lone-Wolf Origins

Move over, garage-built crypto—AI’s next wave might just be a solo dev with a dream. Robinhood’s Vlad Tenev drops a provocative parallel between tomorrow’s AI disruptors and Bitcoin’s anarchic roots.

No VC? No problem. Tenev hints at AI’s looming ’Nakamoto moment’—where one coder could upend industries faster than a Wall Street algo flips positions.

Bonus cynicism: Just don’t expect bankers to recognize the revolution until their bonuses are obsolete.

Robinhood Chief Bets on AI to Cut Teams, Costs and Barriers to Building

He argued that, just as Nakamoto launched a global financial network alone, future innovators could leverage AI to build and tokenize their projects.

“I think you’ll have more single-person companies… they’ll trade on blockchains just like other assets,” he told the audience. “You’ll be able to invest in a person or the economic activities of a project that is run by a single person.”

Since its anonymous release, bitcoin has sparked the creation of thousands of digital currencies. Many go far beyond simple peer-to-peer payments. Over time, blockchain technology has found broader use. For example, Walmart now uses it to track its food supply chain. Additionally, it powers digital art, gaming assets and more. Major banks have also started experimenting with tokenized financial products.

AI, meanwhile, has been widely discussed as both a threat to jobs and a productivity booster. Tenev chose the optimistic view, emphasizing how automation is lowering the cost of creation and increasing access to new markets. “One of the things that AI is making possible is more and more value being created with fewer and fewer resources,” he said.

Robinhood Pushes SEC to Recognize Digital Tokens as Traditional Assets

Robinhood has aggressively expanded into crypto in recent years. As a result, it now offers a wide range of tokens, including popular meme coins. In the first quarter of this year, the platform’s revenue jumped 50%. This surge was largely fueled by increased cryptocurrency trading. Moreover, profits more than doubled, surpassing analyst expectations.

Looking ahead, the company has submitted a detailed proposal to the US SEC, calling for a national framework for tokenized real-world assets.

Robinhood argues that digital tokens representing assets like stocks or bonds should be treated as legal equivalents to their traditional forms. The plan aims to unify regulatory oversight and simplify compliance for innovators in the space.