Robinhood generates $51 million in blockchain fees while Ethereum settlement costs total just $69,000

Robinhood Chain's trading surged more than twentyfold in three months as its operator captured nearly $46 million in network fees.The Ethereum layer-2 network, launched on July 1, recorded $14.05 billion in tokenized stock trading volume during its first quarter, according to Bitwise's Oct. 20 staking report.Monthly volume climbed from $526 million in July to $2.21 billion in August before reaching $11.31 billion in September. The expansion helped the network generate $51.11 million in transaction fees during the quarter, with Robinhood retaining an estimated $45.93 million, or nearly 90%, before operating expenses.The performance suggests that operating proprietary blockchains could become an increasingly attractive revenue opportunity for financial services companies, while raising questions about how much economic value Ethereum captures from activity conducted on networks built around it.The growth has extended beyond Robinhood's own trading operations.According to Token Terminal, weekly decentralized exchange trading volume for tokenized stocks across the market rose 447% after Robinhood Chain's launch, from an average of $627 million to $3.4 billion.Meanwhile, the blockchain'...