Exclusive Interview with Dynamic Zone》Robinhood Crypto General Manager Johann Kerbrat: From Working at McDonald's to Reshaping the Settlement Infrastructure of Wall Street

In an exclusive interview with Dongqu, Johann Kerbrat, General Manager of Robinhood Crypto, shared his journey from self-learning at the grassroots level to reshaping the financial settlement system. He explained that Robinhood chose Ethereum Layer 2 to build a long-term reliable parallel financial infrastructure aimed at eliminating counterparty risk through real-time settlement, preventing a repeat of the GameStop incident.
(Background recap: Bernstein is optimistic about Robinhood with a 105% upside potential! Describes “market panic” as a short-term phenomenon)
(Additional background: Robinhood Chain testnet launched: based on Arbitrum, designed specifically for US stock tokenization and RWA real-world assets)

Table of Contents

• Pursuing “Longevity”: Choosing Ethereum Layer 2
• Johann’s Journey: From Traditional Finance, Understanding Traditional Finance, Breaking Traditional Finance
• Anonymity is a choice, not a fundamental requirement
• Regulatory Play: From Wells Notice to Global Deployment
• Johann: US securities law reduces retail investors to second-class citizens; this is one of the greatest injustices today. Tokenization will improve all this, and we are not far from it.
• Users don’t need to understand the technology; engineers should break all usability bottlenecks

After the emergence of numerous US stock tokenization products, Robinhood’s role in this space is always prominent. This exclusive Dongqu interview features Johann Kerbrat, General Manager of Robinhood Crypto. Learn how Johann, a tech enthusiast who once worked at McDonald’s by day and self-taught coding at night, has grown into Robinhood Crypto’s GM and is about to become a key player in the core settlement layer of Wall Street.

Special thanks to LTP for providing the venue and assisting with the invitation.

Pursuing “Longevity”: Choosing Ethereum Layer 2

Dongqu Alex: You once used your grandfather’s folding knife to illustrate the importance of “longevity” and “reliability.” In this fast-lived crypto world, how does this philosophy reflect in Robinhood’s technical choices?

Johann: The original purpose of blockchain is to support a long-term future. We chose to build on Ethereum Layer 2 because its decentralization and security are well-established. Five or six years from now, it will still be here. Our standard for technology selection is whether it can withstand the test of time—resilient to time.

Johann’s Journey: From Traditional Finance, Understanding Traditional Finance, Breaking Traditional Finance

Dongqu Alex: You previously founded MagAvenue, similar to Shopify, and held key roles at the financial software giant Murex. You understand both technology and traditional finance. Did your decision to develop on Arbitrum L2 aim to bypass DTCC and prevent incidents like GameStop?

Johann: The core reason is that clients need 24/7 instant transfers. “Real-time settlement reduces capital costs and eliminates counterparty risk.” “In an instant world, events like GameStop would be impossible.” This isn’t just a tech upgrade; it’s a silent war over “collateral control.” Robinhood is building a parallel credit system, inviting giants like Nasdaq to connect, trying to replace intermediaries’ uncertainty with code’s determinism.

Anonymity is a Choice, Not a Fundamental Requirement

Dongqu Alex: You researched privacy tech with Ironfish, but Robinhood’s products are mainstream. Will we see anonymous compliance features?

Johann: Currently, there are no concrete ZK (zero-knowledge proof) plans. I see anonymity as a feature, not a fundamental requirement. While some users need privacy, the key for financial institutions is transparency. Privacy details can be handled at the smart contract layer without sacrificing blockchain transparency.

And “we’ve built highly performant tech, but it’s too hard to use.” That’s why in Europe, Robinhood users buying tokenized stocks don’t need to understand Gas prices or worry about cross-chain bridge security—they just need to know how to buy.

Regulatory Play: From Wells Notice to Global Deployment

Dongqu Alex: Robinhood initially approached the SEC kindly 16 times but ultimately received a Wells Notice. Has this shifted your view on US regulation? And acquiring Bitstamp and actively shifting toward Europe’s MiCA framework—are you hinting that the US “register or else” invitation is a trap? How do you view Asian markets?

Johann: Both are true. For a while, US regulators seemed to push companies away, so we focused on the clear regulations of the EU. But now, the environment is changing. We launched staking services in the US, with over 45 assets. The landscape is evolving.

Asian markets are very important to us, which is one reason we acquired Bitstamp. They hold licenses in Singapore, allowing us to serve institutional clients there. That’s the beauty of tokenization. We see it not just as a way to access US stocks but as a gateway to other stock markets and private offerings. Through tokenization, we aim to make these assets accessible worldwide.

Johann: US Securities Law Reduces Retail Investors to Second-Class Citizens; Tokenization Will Improve All This, and We Are Not Far

Dongqu Alex: The equity tokenization of OpenAI is highly controversial. Regarding such tokenizations, do you think current securities laws protect institutions at the expense of retail investors—making them “exit liquidity”? You once said: “Accredited Investor rules should shift from ‘wealth screening’ to ‘knowledge screening’.” Do you believe US securities law is fundamentally designed to protect gatekeepers and institutions, treating retail investors as second-class citizens?

Johann: I see this as a coming cultural shift. Just as stablecoins took a long time to be accepted and understood as “a tokenized dollar,” private equity tokenization will go through a similar process.

Ultimately, this is one of the greatest inequalities in the world today. Companies used to go public early, allowing retail investors to benefit from growth. Now, raising private capital is so easy that retail often enters only when the company is large and about to go public, becoming “exit liquidity.” Change is inevitable. Through tokenization, we’ll see a shift in financing—companies raising funds on-chain, growing on-chain, and directly going public on-chain. We’re not far from that world; just keep pushing forward.

Users Don’t Need to Understand the Technology; Engineers Should Break All Bottlenecks

Dongqu Alex: From your perspective, what bottlenecks have you encountered in the past, or are facing now? And if you could go back, what would you tell your younger self working at McDonald’s?

Johann: In crypto, especially in this “engineer-for-engineer” world, we often build highly performant, critical tech that’s too hard to use, excluding many retail users.

Our role is to eliminate this complexity, to “abstract it away,” so people don’t need to think about the underlying tech. For example, when you buy tokenized stocks in Europe, we handle Gas fees, cross-chain bridging, and private key management. You don’t need to worry about DeFi details, just like sending a message to a friend—you don’t need to understand the background mechanics. We want people to focus on investment decisions, not on making transactions succeed.

If I could tell my younger self something, it would be: Be willing to take risks and venture out. People tend to stay in their comfort zones, but through risk-taking, you discover more and make a bigger impact on the world.