The Daily: Robinhood unveils Arbitrum-powered Layer 2 and tokenized stocks, XRP Ledger's Ethereum-compatible sidechain goes live, and more

The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter,  The Daily , which comes out on weekday afternoons.

I hope you had a good weekend, folks. Bitcoin briefly broke above $108,000, and Ethereum topped $2,500 over the weekend before correcting on Monday as traders gear up for a week of key macro data and remarks from Fed Chair Jerome Powell.

In today's newsletter, Robinhood expands its crypto-related product suite, XRP Ledger's Ethereum-compatible sidechain launches on mainnet, Strategy stacks another 4,980 BTC amid Michael Saylor's bold price prediction, and more.

Meanwhile, REX Shares and Osprey Funds are set to launch the "first-ever staked crypto ETF in the U.S." for trading on Wednesday with an inaugural Solana product.

Let's get started.

Robinhood unveils tokenized stocks, perps, staking — and its own Arbitrum-based Layer 2

Robinhood launched over 200 tokenized U.S. stock and ETF tokens for EU users during its "To Catch a Token" event on Monday, offering 24/5 trading, dividend support, and zero commission.

• CEO Vlad Tenev said Robinhood will also distribute tokenized shares of private firms like OpenAI and SpaceX to EU users as part of a broader growth push.
• While the shares are initially issued on Arbitrum, the company is building its own Arbitrum-based Layer 2 blockchain, designed to eventually facilitate this real-world asset tokenization, 24/7 trading, and self-custody.
• EU users will also gain access to crypto perpetual futures with up to 3x leverage by the end of summer, routed through Bitstamp by Robinhood.
• Furthermore, Robinhood rolled out crypto staking in the U.S., starting with Ethereum and Solana, expanding a feature already live in the EU and EEA.
• Robinhood's shares gained more than 11% on Monday to reach a new all-time high of over $92, according to The Block's HOOD price page .

XRP Ledger's Ethereum-compatible sidechain goes live on mainnet

Ripple, Peersyst, and Axelar have launched the XRPL EVM Sidechain on mainnet , enabling Ethereum-compatible smart contracts within the XRP Ledger ecosystem.

• The new sidechain lets developers build and port Ethereum-based applications while benefiting from XRPL's low-cost, high-speed infrastructure.
• "It extends the capabilities of the ecosystem without changing the fundamentals that make the XRPL reliable," Ripple CTO and co-creator of the XRP Ledger, David Schwartz, said.
• The sidechain connects to the XRPL mainnet via Axelar as the exclusive bridge for transferring assets such as wrapped XRP, which will serve as the native gas token.

Strategy stacks another 4,980 BTC as Michael Saylor predicts $21 million price in 21 years

Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) bought another 4,980 BTC for $531.9 million between June 23 and June 29, bringing its holdings to 597,325 BTC — more than 2.8% of bitcoin's total 21 million supply.

• The latest acquisitions were funded by proceeds from the sale of its Class A common stock, MSTR, perpetual Strike preferred stock, STRK, and perpetual Strife preferred stock, STRF.
• Co-founder Michael Saylor again hinted at the announcement ahead of time, posting to X on Sunday: "In 21 years, you'll wish you'd bought more" — echoing his recent ultra-bullish BTC Prague claim that bitcoin could hit $21 million in 21 years.
• Meanwhile, Metaplanet also announced Monday it had acquired an additional 1,005 BTC for $108 million, bringing its total holdings to 13,350 BTC — surpassing those of Galaxy Digital and CleanSpark.

US Supreme Court will not review privacy case over IRS request for Coinbase user data

The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear a case challenging the IRS's demand for Coinbase user data, leaving a lower court ruling in place.

• Over the past year, amicus briefs have been filed, including from Coinbase and Elon Musk's X, urging the Supreme Court to clarify privacy rights in the digital age, citing Fourth Amendment concerns.
• The dispute dates back several years after the IRS demanded records from Coinbase from thousands of its customers, including information involving security settings, transactions, and correspondence.
• Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal argued in April that the IRS had overreached, warning that the case has implications beyond crypto, affecting privacy across banks, ISPs, and tech platforms.

Ethereum's 10th anniversary time capsule

The Ethereum community has launched an onchain "time capsule" to commemorate the network's 10th anniversary, letting users encrypt memories for about $2.50 in ETH.

• Backed by EthCC, Protocol Guild, and Shutter Network, the capsule will seal entries from July 30 using threshold encryption until the 11th anniversary in 2026, when the contract will decrypt each file and store it permanently on Ethereum's ledger.
• All proceeds will support Ethereum's core development as contributors reflect on the network's journey and look ahead to its next decade.

In the next 24 hours

• Eurozone CPI inflation data are out at 5 a.m. ET on Tuesday.
• ECB President Christine Lagarde, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey, and U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell are all scheduled to speak at 9:30 a.m.
• Sui, dYdX, and EigenLayer are set for token unlocks .

Never miss a beat with The Block's  daily digest  of the most influential events happening across the digital asset ecosystem.