Robinhood Chain may not be contributing much to Ethereum’s fee revenue today, but some analysts argue its launch could significantly strengthen Ethereum’s long term value by expanding network activity and increasing demand for ETH.
Since going live on July 1, Robinhood Chain has generated approximately $816,000 in gross revenue. Around 89% has gone to Robinhood, 10% to Arbitrum for infrastructure services, while Ethereum has received just 0.15%, or roughly $1,538, in settlement fees.
Robinhood Chain is an Ethereum Virtual Machine compatible Layer 2 network built on Arbitrum that uses ETH as its native gas token. Although Ethereum secures the network, the base layer has so far captured only a small fraction of the revenue generated.
Analysts Split on What It Means for Ethereum
Lorenzo Valente, Director of Research at Ark Invest, believes the implications depend on how investors value Ethereum.
According to him, those who view ETH primarily as money should see Robinhood’s decision to build on Ethereum as a highly bullish development because it increases network activity, expands ETH collateral usage, and strengthens the ecosystem over time.
However, investors who see Ethereum mainly as a revenue generating asset may view the current revenue distribution as a negative. Valente argued that Robinhood was unlikely to build on networks such as Solana or Sui because the company wanted greater control and customization over its technology stack.
In his view, Ethereum won the partnership because of the strength of its settlement infrastructure, but it is not capturing enough of the economic value it creates. He suggested a more balanced revenue split would allocate 75% to Robinhood, 10% to Arbitrum, and 15% to Ethereum.
Lubin Says Low Fees Are Part of the Strategy
Consensys founder Joseph Lubin pushed back on concerns over Ethereum’s low Layer 1 fee revenue, arguing that inexpensive settlement encourages broader adoption.
He believes thousands of companies will launch applications across Ethereum’s Layer 1, Layer 2 networks, and private EVM chains over the next few years, ultimately increasing ETH’s monetary value.
Lubin also pointed to staking and other forms of ETH lockups as key drivers of scarcity. Combined with Ethereum’s token burning mechanism under favorable network conditions, he argued these factors could support long term price appreciation.
Robinhood Chain Adds Another Source of ETH Demand
According to DefiLlama, approximately 82,895 ETH, worth around $147.5 million, has already been bridged to Robinhood Chain since its launch two weeks ago.
Analysts see the network as another source of sustained ETH demand alongside staking, which currently locks up roughly 33% of the circulating supply, as well as institutional treasury holdings and spot Ethereum ETFs.
ETH Price Still Struggles
Despite the optimistic long term outlook, Ethereum’s price has yet to reflect the growing adoption narrative.
ETH was trading near $1,780 after briefly dipping to around $1,750 during early Asian trading. While the asset has recovered from its late June low near $1,500, it has repeatedly failed to break above the $1,800 resistance level over the past ten days.
Market participants continue to view broader macroeconomic conditions as the primary catalyst for Ethereum’s next major move, with easing inflation and a lower likelihood of further Federal Reserve rate hikes expected to provide the strongest tailwinds for the asset.#crypto#cryptonews https://coinsignals.nethttps://t.me/coinsignalpublic
