Vlad Tenev, the co-founder and CEO of Robinhood Markets (Nasdaq: HOOD), has issued a grave warning that the U.S. Congress' delay on crypto legislation is hurting American customers.
Founded in 2013, Robinhood is an e-trading platform that offers stocks, cryptocurrencies, and tokenized offerings.
The company went public on the Nasdaq in 2021 and made it to the S&P 500 index in 2025.
Related: Congress introduces the CLARITY act to regulate digital assets
Robinhood CEO decries Congress 'gridlock'
Tenev wrote an X post on Jan. 14 in which he complained about Robinhood not being able to offer certain crypto services, such as staking and tokenized stocks , to its customers in the U.S. due to the "gridlock" in Congress over the crypto market structure legislation.
Staking is the process of locking up your crypto assets, like Ethereum (ETH) to help secure a proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain network in exchange for rewards.
Tokenization is the process of representing the ownership of assets like stocks, funds, etc., as digital tokens.
Unlike stocks traded on traditional exchanges, tokenized stocks are traded 24/7 and can be offered in fractional units.
Tenev said that even though staking is one of the most requested features, it's not available to Robinhood customers in four U.S. states due to the Congress delay on the key crypto legislation.
Similarly, Robinhood offers tokenized stocks to customers in the EU, but not to those in the U.S., he added.
Tenev said he supports the Congress's efforts to pass the crypto market structure bill and extended help to the Senate Banking Committee for the same. He urged the stakeholders to pass legislation that protects consumers and unlocks innovation.
Why crypto market structure legislation is contentious
The crypto market structure bill aims to create a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies, classify them as securities or commodities, and bifurcate the jurisdictions of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
The current draft of the legislation has proven to be contentious because it prohibits "any form of interest or yield" on stablecoin holdings only.
Though it allows stablecoin rewards on loyalty, promotional, subscription, incentive, governance, validation, staking, or other ecosystem programs, the crypto industry is calling the provision a major concession to the banking sector.
The banking sector fears that their customers would abandon their savings accounts for stablecoins for higher returns on their funds and has lobbied hard for the provision to prohibit rewards on stablecoin holdings.
The current draft also gives authorities to the U.S. Treasury Department to investigate illicit finance, which critics like Galaxy Digital's Alex Thorn say is "the single largest expansion to financial surveillance authorities since the USA PATRIOT Act."
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Coinbase withdraws support, Banking Committee postpones markup
Brian Armstrong, the billionaire co-founder and CEO of Coinbase (Nasdaq: COIN), withdrew his support from the legislation in the current form due to his opposition to a lack of stablecoin rewards, a "defacto ban" on tokenized equities, "unlimited" government access to financial records, and the CFTC's allegedly subservient position to the SEC.
"We'd rather have no bill than a bad bill. Hopefully we can all get to a better draft."
He argued for treating crypto assets similarly to the rest of financial services.
After Armstrong's opposition, the Senate Banking Committee postponed its much-awaited Jan. 15 markup of the bill.
Notably, Coinbase spent millions of dollars on political action committees (PACs) to get pro-crypto candidates elected in 2024 and it would be difficult for the legislation to pass without the support of the largest crypto exchange in the U.S.
Arjun Sethi, co-CEO of the Kraken crypto exchange, however, extended his support to the efforts of the Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott (R-SC) and Subcommittee Chair Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) to advance the bill.
"It is easy to create deadlines. It is easy to declare failure. It is easy to walk away when a process gets difficult," he said.
Sethi said he is looking to help deliver "durable" crypto market structure legislation to President Donald Trump's desk.
Related: Analyst revamps Coinbase rating as Clarity Act hearing nears
This story was originally published by TheStreet on Jan 15, 2026, where it first appeared in the Policy section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
