Robinhood CEO Says Political Infighting Is 'A Concern' For Crypto Legislation

by Murtuza J Merchant Benzinga Staff Writer

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Tenev called for accreditation reform allowing investors to self-certify their risk tolerance and invest in startups.
Despite political challenges, he remains optimistic the infrastructure is being laid for a tokenized asset future.
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Robinhood HOOD CEO Vlad Tenev on Thursday warned that political conflict in Washington could derail critical crypto legislation, emphasizing the need for regulatory clarity in the U.S. to realize the full potential of tokenized assets.

Speaking with CNBC at the Bitcoin BTC/USD Conference 2025, Tenev emphasized that legislative gridlock could hinder efforts to modernize U.S. financial infrastructure and create uncertainty over how crypto assets are regulated.

Tenev identified market structure legislation as a potential casualty of political infighting.

"It's a concern," he said, referencing conflicts over regulatory jurisdiction and recent criticisms surrounding political figures’ ties to crypto-related ventures.

"You don't know which regulator you're going to be dealing with or which rules you're going to follow," he added, describing the current lack of regulatory clarity as a serious impediment to business.

Despite these concerns, Tenev noted that tokenization, especially of public and private equities, could move forward without needing congressional approval.

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He suggested the SEC could enable such innovations via exemptive relief, akin to its approach with alternative trading systems decades ago.

"We believe the SEC can just do it," he said, pointing to ongoing engagements with the SEC's crypto task force and other agencies.

He also criticized existing accreditation rules that prevent retail investors from accessing high-growth private companies like SpaceX and OpenAI, while allowing speculative investments in meme coins. Tenev advocated for self-certification frameworks to level the playing field.

Tenev argued that enabling global access to tokenized U.S. assets could strengthen American financial dominance and democratize venture capital access worldwide.

He compared this to the international rise of stablecoins as substitutes for dollars in economies with volatile local currencies.

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