dYdX Labs has rebranded its DEX protocol as Arcus and launched the platform on Robinhood Chain, an Arbitrum-based layer-2 blockchain that went live on mainnet on July 2, 2026. The deal brings together dYdX Labs and Robinhood around perpetual trading and commission-free tokenized stocks. Robinhood Crypto made an investment in Arcus, but did not disclose the amount.
The Rebrand and Launch on Robinhood Chain
The Arcus account on X posted a short message: "dYdX is now Arcus". The same day, dYdX Foundation clarified that Arcus is a separate, independent product built by dYdX Labs in partnership with Robinhood on Robinhood Chain infrastructure. The original dYdX blockchain continues to operate under community governance and is not affected by the reorganization. The DYDX token and core protocol remain unchanged.
dYdX had been one of the largest decentralized perpetuals platforms for several years. After launching its own blockchain in 2023, the platform moved away from Ethereum but gradually lost market share to competitors. The Robinhood partnership gives dYdX Labs a fresh start under a new name and on a new network.
Robinhood Chain completed its testnet in February 2026. The network is built on Arbitrum, one of the leading rollups on Ethereum. The mainnet launched on the same day as Arcus. Robinhood has described Robinhood Chain as an "AI-native" platform built for real-world assets.
Deal Structure and Each Party's Role
According to dYdX Foundation, Arcus was built by dYdX Labs, the technology arm of the ecosystem, not by the Foundation or the community of token holders. Arcus operates as an independent platform on separate infrastructure. The funds and governance of the original dYdX protocol are not involved in this deal.
Robinhood Crypto invested in Arcus, but the amount was not disclosed. Robinhood previously reported that its crypto transaction revenue dropped by nearly half in Q1 2026, from $252 million to $134 million. The push into DeFi and perpetuals is a response to that decline. In June 2026, the company also announced a 10% workforce reduction as part of a restructuring.
Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev called tokenized stocks "inevitable" back in January 2026, arguing that they eliminate trading halts seen on traditional exchanges during volatile sessions. The partnership with dYdX Labs gave the company a ready-made technical foundation for derivatives without building its own DEX from scratch.
What Arcus Offers at Launch
Arcus plans to bring perpetuals and tokenized stock trading to mainnet during July 2026. Tokenized stocks will serve as collateral for derivative positions, removing the need to separately fund an account in stablecoins before opening a trade. The platform also announced access to pre-IPO markets.
At launch, Arcus offers these conditions:
- 95 tokenized stocks with zero commission
- perpetual contracts on US equities, commodities, and indices
- tokenized stocks as collateral for derivative positions
- access to pre-IPO markets
Robinhood's tokenized stocks are already available through its wallet app in more than 120 countries. Arcus extends this product into full DEX trading with derivatives. Coinbase also added access to thousands of stocks earlier in 2026, competing with Robinhood in the retail trading market.
Platform Partners and the Competitive Field
Two external players joined Robinhood Chain alongside Arcus. Bitget Wallet integrated the network to give its users access to tokenized stock trading. The aggregator 1inch announced support for Robinhood Chain as one of the first major swap platforms to do so.
Robinhood is openly positioning Arcus as an alternative to Hyperliquid, the decentralized perpetuals platform whose token has risen nearly 150% since the start of 2026. Coinbase has operated its own L2 blockchain, Base, since 2023, and the network ranks among the five largest by total value locked. The decentralized derivatives market is becoming a contest among major retail brokers.
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