Johann Kerbrat, Robinhood’s senior vice president and general manager of cryptocurrencies, said during a fireside chat at the Consensus 2026 conference in Miami that global demand for U.S. stocks is rising, prompting investors to look beyond the domestic market.
“We’re seeing a lot of demand from overseas investors for U.S. stocks, particularly companies related to artificial intelligence,” Kobrat said, adding that investment opportunities in many regions remain limited compared with the United States.
Kerbrat said that now that international 24/7 trading platforms are available to investors, investors should shift from country-specific strategies to global allocations. “Now is the time for a lot of investors to really think about how to invest in a particular country and how to have a global portfolio,” he said.
Kraken executives pointed to tokenization and round-the-clock trading as key drivers. “We think it’s going to be 24/7. We think it’s going to be instant settlement,” he said, describing features that could differentiate tokenized assets from traditional brokerage products.
The discussion, moderated by Cryptocurrency USA host Eleanor Terrett, also discussed regulatory restrictions in the United States. “U.S. regulation has not been very friendly in the past,” Kobrat said, although he noted that engagement with policymakers has improved recently.
Robinhood has launched a tokenized equity product in Europe using a derivatives model that tracks the underlying asset, and plans to expand access to other asset classes including private equity. Kobrat said the goal is broader participation in a market that has historically been limited to accredited investors.
“I think it’s very important to give them the option to invest before going public,” he said, referring to private companies.
Kerbrat said adoption will depend on delivering new functionality rather than replicating existing brokerage services, with lending, mortgages and ongoing trading seen as areas for development.
Kraken lags behind platforms like OKX, Bybit, and Coinbase (COIN) in terms of spot trading volume, but remains a major player in the cryptocurrency derivatives market. is a U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange that allows users to buy, sell, and trade digital assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum using fiat currencies or cryptocurrencies. It has expanded into services such as derivatives, staking and custody, positioning itself as a more full-service trading platform beyond basic retail applications.