15 years ago, he flipped a hamburger in Cannes, and now he is at the helm of Robinhood's global crypto expansion

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Bitpush
07-01
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Source: CNBC

Original Title: Robinhood expands its global push, minutes from crypto chief's old cramped apartment in Cannes

Compiled and Organized by: BitpushNews


Fifteen years ago, in a small apartment near the French Riviera, 21-year-old Johann Kerbrat worked at McDonald's during the day and self-taught programming at night. Now, as Robinhood's senior vice president and head of crypto business, he returns to his hometown with the company's most ambitious crypto product suite.

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Cannes Memories

"My studio was probably smaller than your bathroom," Kerbrat recalled. Before enrolling at the nearby University of Nice, he quit his job and founded his first fintech startup - a no-code payment company that helped small merchants build e-commerce websites without hiring developers.

"It was the early stage of e-commerce. At that time, merchants either spent tens of thousands of euros hiring agencies or couldn't conduct online business. Our idea was to let people build their own stores without technical knowledge - somewhat like Shopify today."

The timing was perfect. In the early 2010s, online commerce was booming, and Kerbrat's tool gave small merchants a chance to compete. This also made him realize how fragile and expensive the global financial system was.

A Greek classmate told him that during the Eurozone crisis, his family's bank account was frozen. Around the same time, merchants using his platform were struggling with high fees, refunds, and fraud. Then, the Bitcoin whitepaper emerged.

"I thought, 'Well, this is the solution to all problems,'" he said.

Glamorous 'Return'

Now, on the Cannes coastline, in the same area where he once lived and worked night shifts at fast food, Kerbrat is inside a Belle Époque mansion called "Château de la Croix des Gardes", participating in the most ambitious crypto product suite in Robinhood's history.

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On Monday, the company announced an expansion of tokenized US stocks and ETF issuance in Europe, launching crypto staking services in the US, offering perpetual futures for eligible EU traders, and introducing a new Layer 2 blockchain optimized for real-world asset settlement and all-weather trading.

"This is absolutely surreal," Kerbrat said, sitting inside the iconic Carlton Hotel, a five-star landmark that was once unattainable to him. "When I was young, I used to walk past here - I never thought I could stay here."

Robinhood's Strategic Layout

This launch coincides with the first Ethereum community conference in Cannes and Robinhood's recent regulatory approvals in Europe.

Robinhood's latest move is its most serious attempt to merge traditional finance with blockchain-based infrastructure.

Following the announcement, Robinhood's stock price hit a historic high, with over 100% growth this year.

Kerbrat stated that their goal is not to showcase features, but to make crypto technology "invisible" in the background, which he compares to a "pipeline".

"You don't think about how water gets to your faucet," he said, "you just expect it to open and be usable."

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But some "pipelines" still need to be built.

Monday's core announcement was tokenized US stocks and ETFs, now open to users in 30 EU and European Economic Area countries. These tokens are initially built on Arbitrum, providing 24/7 trading access 5 days a week, supporting dividend payments, with no commissions or spreads from Robinhood. Eventually, they will migrate to a custom Layer 2 blockchain that will support tokenized assets, seamless bridging, and self-custody.

In the US, Robinhood is launching staking services for Ethereum and Solana, allowing users to earn rewards by supporting network operations. In Europe, crypto perpetual futures will offer up to 3x leverage for eligible users, with trading routed through Bitstamp. Other upgrades include smart exchange routing, tax batch management, and advanced charting tools - all designed to make crypto trading as seamless and intuitive as stock trading.

"When we talk about mass adoption," Johann Kerbrat said, "this is what it looks like. A product people use without understanding how it works."

For Johann Kerbrat, who spent his teenage years in Cannes and Nice, this return is more than symbolic. It demonstrates how far he has come - and how much still feels the same.

His father worked in IT, and his mother took care of him and his sister at home. One day, his father brought home an old, bulky Apple computer with a black and white screen, which was the "spark". At 7, he started playing with computers. At 11, he was regularly writing code. By 17, he was already trying to fix internet economy flaws.

His parents, now living inland, specially came to watch the launch. He said they still remember those early days - the small apartment, the first lines of code, and endless conversations with merchants who didn't quite believe him that anyone could build an e-commerce website without programming knowledge.

"We chose Cannes because of the license approvals and the conference," Kerbrat said, "but I won't pretend it doesn't feel good. I never thought I'd come back this way."


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