Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev is calling on the United States to take a stronger leadership role in crypto regulation, arguing that regulatory uncertainty is holding back innovation — and frustrating users.
In a post on X on January 15, Tenev said crypto staking remains one of the most requested features among Robinhood customers. Yet the company still can’t offer it in four U.S. states, which he blamed on ongoing regulatory gridlock.
“Stock tokens are available to our customers in the EU, but not in our home market,” Tenev wrote, highlighting the growing gap between U.S. policy and overseas regulation.
According to Robinhood, crypto staking is currently unavailable in California, Maryland, New Jersey, and Wisconsin.
“It’s Time for the U.S. to Lead on Crypto Policy”
Tenev urged lawmakers to move faster on clear, consistent crypto rules that both protect consumers and allow innovation to flourish.
“We support Congress’s efforts to pass the market structure bill,” he said, adding that while progress has been made, more work is still needed.
“But we see a path forward and are here to help the U.S. Senate Banking Committee GOP and the Senate Banking and Housing Democrats get it over the line.”
His comments come as Washington continues to debate how crypto should be regulated — and who should regulate it.
Crypto Bill Faces Delays and Pushback
On Wednesday, the Senate Banking Committee delayed its planned markup of a broad crypto market structure bill that aims to clarify when digital tokens should be treated as securities, commodities, or something else entirely.
The delay came just hours after Coinbase withdrew its support for the latest version of the bill. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said the proposal contains “too many issues,” including provisions that could effectively ban tokenized equities, restrict DeFi, and eliminate rewards on stablecoins.
The setback underscores how divided lawmakers and industry leaders remain — even as companies like Robinhood push for clearer rules.
Tenev: AI Will Create Jobs, Not Kill Them
In a separate interview with FOX Business, Tenev also weighed in on artificial intelligence, pushing back against fears that AI will wipe out jobs.
Instead, he argued that AI will fuel a wave of innovation and lead to entirely new types of work.
“AI will lead to an explosion of not just new jobs, but new job families,” Tenev said, adding that while technological change can be disruptive, history shows it reshapes work rather than eliminates it.
Even so, he acknowledged that this shift may happen faster than previous technological revolutions.
