Offchain Labs co-founder Steven Goldfeder and Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko exchanged competing views on Sept. 6 over why Robinhood constructed its blockchain utilizing Arbitrum expertise as a substitute of working functions instantly on Solana.
Goldfeder argued that Robinhood can retain roughly 90% of its chain income underneath the Arbitrum Growth Program. A Solana-based software would pay community charges with out receiving the underlying chain’s income, he mentioned.
“Robinhood selected Arbitrum so that they might be a landlord and never a tenant,” Goldfeder wrote. His remark responded to Yakovenko’s place that Robinhood might subsidize Solana transaction charges whereas charging customers via its personal software.
The talk adopted a pointy rise in Robinhood Chain exercise. The community lately collected $6.04 million in every day transaction charges and retained about $5.44 million after bills and its Arbitrum revenue-sharing obligation.
I’ve a ton of respect for @toly however this can be a ridiculous take. On Arbitrum, Robinhood retains 90% of gasoline charges. On Solana they might retain 0 and any gasoline charges they sponsored would come out of pocket.
Robinhood selected Arbitrum so that they might be a landlord and never a tenant. https://t.co/vWjBtn9PYh
— Steven Goldfeder (@sgoldfed) September 5, 2026
Robinhood retains 90% of internet income, not gross charges
Goldfeder’s 90% determine displays the Arbitrum Growth Program’s share of internet protocol income. It shouldn’t be interpreted as Robinhood routinely retaining 90% of each gross charge paid by customers.
Below this system, Robinhood Chain sends 10% of its internet protocol income to the Arbitrum ecosystem. Eight share factors go to the Arbitrum DAO treasury, whereas two share factors fund the Arbitrum Developer Guild.
Web income is calculated after related community bills, together with the price of posting transaction knowledge to Ethereum. Robinhood’s precise retained quantity due to this fact is dependent upon gross transaction charges, Ethereum knowledge prices, infrastructure bills and the Arbitrum cost.
The association has already produced measurable outcomes. Robinhood Chain collected a report $6.04 million in transaction charges throughout its newest 24-hour reporting interval and retained roughly $5.44 million. The figures present the community conserving about 90% after related prices and allocations.
The community additionally generated $20.33 million in income over seven days. Sustaining that charge for a full yr would produce roughly $1.06 billion, however such annualization is barely a projection primarily based on a short interval of unusually excessive exercise.
The newest Robinhood Chain charge report adopted speedy progress in memecoin buying and selling, token launches and decentralized alternate quantity. GMGN, Pons and Uniswap accounted for a lot of the appliance exercise.
Yakovenko says functions can accumulate charges on Solana
Yakovenko’s argument focuses on the appliance layer. Robinhood might deploy its companies on Solana, subsidize transaction prices and cost prospects via its interface, avoiding the expense of working a separate Layer 2 community.
This strategy might work for transactions initiated via Robinhood’s software. Brokerages can cost commissions, spreads, subscription charges or service charges with out controlling the blockchain beneath their merchandise.
Goldfeder countered that this mannequin wouldn’t seize worth from exercise occurring exterior Robinhood’s interface. Third-party wallets, buying and selling bots, decentralized exchanges and token launchpads can work together instantly with blockchain contracts.
Robinhood would pay to subsidize transactions initiated by its prospects on Solana however would obtain not one of the community charges produced by impartial customers. Solana validators and stakers would obtain these charges as a substitute.
On Robinhood Chain, the corporate operates the community’s sequencing infrastructure. This permits it to gather transaction charges from exercise throughout the chain, together with transactions that bypass Robinhood’s entrance finish.
Current knowledge helps Goldfeder’s level about exterior exercise. Memecoin launchpad Pons and buying and selling platform GMGN have turn into giant contributors to Robinhood Chain’s site visitors. Many transactions generated by these functions don’t originate via Robinhood’s brokerage interface.
The financial distinction is due to this fact broader than the price of particular person transactions. Yakovenko’s mannequin lets Robinhood monetize its prospects on the software stage. Goldfeder’s mannequin lets Robinhood seize income generated throughout a complete community.
Robinhood Chain nonetheless pays Ethereum and Arbitrum
Robinhood doesn’t retain all the worth generated by its blockchain. Robinhood Chain is an Ethereum Layer 2 constructed utilizing Arbitrum Orbit, relatively than an impartial Layer 1.
The community makes use of $ETH as its native gasoline token and posts transaction knowledge to Ethereum utilizing blobs, in line with Robinhood’s documentation. Every transaction consists of an execution part and a goal=”_blank”>reported, Robinhood acquired a branded community, EVM compatibility, present Ethereum instruments and technical help in alternate for a part of its internet income.
Constructing a brand new Layer 1 might theoretically enable Robinhood to retain extra income. It could additionally require the corporate to develop and keep its personal execution, consensus, bridging and safety infrastructure.
Utilizing Solana would take away the necessity to function these elements. Nevertheless, Robinhood would turn into an software on infrastructure it didn’t management and wouldn’t accumulate the community’s transaction charges.
Gasoline subsidies complicate the income comparability
Robinhood launched its chain with a 90-day gasoline subsidy for transactions carried out via Robinhood Pockets. The subsidy is scheduled to run out on Sept. 29.
The promotion means eligible pockets customers don’t instantly pay gasoline through the subsidy interval. Robinhood covers these prices. Nevertheless, the subsidy doesn’t essentially cowl each transaction carried out by impartial functions and wallets throughout the community.
That distinction is central to the founders’ debate. Goldfeder argued that a lot of Robinhood Chain’s exercise now happens past the Robinhood entrance finish. The corporate can accumulate charges from these transactions as a result of it operates the underlying chain.
Robinhood Chain’s exercise elevated quickly through the subsidy. Its every day decentralized alternate quantity lately reached roughly $1.71 billion, whereas complete worth locked in native protocols stood close to $1.17 billion.
The community has additionally exceeded Solana in every day chain income throughout some reporting durations. Nevertheless, direct comparisons require warning as a result of the networks have totally different value buildings, subsidies, charge markets and validator preparations.
The Robinhood Chain and Solana comparability recognized the subsidy’s expiration as a serious take a look at. Person exercise might fall when prospects start paying gasoline, or Robinhood might lengthen or restructure this system.
The charge debate will turn into clearer after Sept. 29
The primary main take a look at arrives when the gasoline subsidy expires. Publish-subsidy knowledge will present what number of Robinhood Pockets customers proceed transacting after they should pay their very own community prices.
It’ll additionally present whether or not impartial exercise from Pons, GMGN, Uniswap and different functions stays sturdy. These functions have contributed closely to the community’s latest charge progress.
An in depth onchain investigation by Bitquery discovered that Robinhood Chain’s gasoline worth elevated roughly 25-fold inside 11 days. The report attributed a lot of the extra demand to a restricted group of closely lively wallets.
The focus creates uncertainty over whether or not present charge income is sustainable. A decline in exercise from a number of giant addresses might cut back transaction charges even when complete person numbers proceed rising.
Robinhood has not publicly introduced whether or not it’ll lengthen the subsidy past Sept. 29. It additionally has not disclosed how community income will seem in its monetary reporting.
There was no verified motion in HOOD, SOL, $ETH or ARB instantly attributable to the founders’ alternate. Linking broader market fluctuations to their feedback with out further proof could be speculative.
The business query will stay whether or not proudly owning a Layer 2 produces extra worth than deploying an software on an present Layer 1. Robinhood Chain’s first unsubsidized working interval will present the clearest proof.
