Robinhood chief executive Vlad Tenev recalled the January 2021 trading freeze that halted purchases of highly volatile names, including GameStop, blaming the episode on outdated settlement mechanics and surging collateral requirements rather than misconduct. He argues that blockchain-based tokenized equities could deliver near-instant settlement, 24/7 trading continuity and greater transparency by removing traditional intermediaries. Robinhood has already piloted tokenized shares and ETFs in Europe for eligible users, and Tenev says similar infrastructure in the U.S. could prevent another mass trading interruption by smoothing extreme volume spikes. The company is in active discussions with U.S. regulators to address classification and oversight of digital securities, while citing distributed-ledger technology’s potential to reduce multi-day settlement cycles and associated margin shocks.

Investor Michael Burry, renowned for his 2008 mortgage-crisis bet, has quietly rebuilt a position in GameStop, purchasing shares over the past week that contributed to a roughly 12% gain in the stock and an 18% rise over the past month. Burry’s fund now holds a stake at a multiple close to tangible book value—about 2.0 times price-to-book and 3.2 times price-to-sales—metrics he views as indicative of genuine value rather than meme-driven speculation. He has stressed that he is not banking on a short squeeze but on underappreciated fundamentals: a strengthened balance sheet, a pivot to collectibles—which grew 50% year-over-year to account for 31% of revenue last quarter—and insider confidence, including CEO Ryan Cohen’s recent purchase of half a million shares. Burry’s timing reflects a conviction in a multi-year turnaround rather than a rapid rally driven by social-media momentum.