Robinhood App Accused of Selling Out Younger Investors 2357

Journalist Logan Kane of Seeking Alpha conducted a deep dive on the practices of popular stock and cryptocurrency trading smartphone application Robinhood. According to Mr. Kane, “it seems that today’s Robinhood takes from the millennial and gives to the high-frequency trader. Not only does Robinhood accept payment for order flow, but on a back-of-the-envelope calculation, they appear to be selling their customers’ orders for over ten times as much as other brokers who engage in the practice.”

Robinhood has taken both the legacy retail stock exchange market and the cryptocurrency exchange market by storm, offering commission-free trades. In just a short time, the startup has earned a multi-billion dollar valuation. These basic facts have brought the firm a lot of very positive media coverage, including, on balance, these pages. However, with success comes greater scrutiny, and especially when a so-called loss leader business model is paramount to its product adoption.

“It appears from recent SEC filings that high-frequency trading firms are paying Robinhood over 10 times as much as they pay to other discount brokerages for the same volume,” claims financial journalist Logan Kane in a recent, long form post on Seeking Alpha.

Mr. Kane is accusing Robinhood of being less than transparent. His curiosity was flamed while encountering the company’s marketing of commission-free trades. “After digging through their SEC filings, it seems that today’s Robinhood takes from the millennial and gives to the high-frequency trader,” he asserted. Furthermore, not only “does Robinhood accept payment for order flow, but on a back-of-the-envelope calculation, they appear to be selling their customers’ orders for over ten times as much as other brokers who engage in the practice. It’s a conflict of interest and is bad for you as a customer.”

After pointing out industry skepticism regarding high-frequency trading, whereby some companies allow customers to choose how orders are routed, he insists, “Robinhood not only engages in selling customer orders but seems to be making far more than their competitors from it. Among brokers that receive payment for order flow, it’s typically a small percentage of their revenue but a big chunk of change nonetheless. Robinhood appears to be operating differently,” he continued.

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Taoshi Announces Vanta Trading, A New Decentralized Prop Trading Evaluation Platform 3298

Vanta Trading Offers Traders 100% Simulated Profit Payouts via the Blockchain, Greater Transparency and a Simplified Evaluation Challenge

Taoshi, a leader in decentralized finance on the Bittensor Network, today announced the launch of Vanta Trading, a prop trading firm powered by Bittensor Subnet 8, known as the Vanta Network.

Vanta Trading is a decentralized trader evaluation platform that identifies and scales top performers using transparent, rule-based blockchain infrastructure. All trading occurs in a simulated environment and does not involve customer funds or live market execution.

As of 2025, the proprietary trading industry is valued at $20 billion. However, some firms and models have been criticized for opaque rules, frequent rule changes, and economic structures that can disadvantage traders. Unlike most traditional firms, Vanta Trading utilizes decentralized infrastructure to offer transparency, with straightforward rules, verifiable payouts, and scaling opportunities.

“With many traditional prop trading firms, traders often cite limited visibility around rules, evaluations, and payouts. In some cases, firms may modify conditions or delay payouts in ways that are difficult for traders to independently verify, creating uncertainty and misaligned incentives,” said Arrash Yasavolian, founder and CEO of Vanta Trading. “Vanta Trading offers a more transparent alternative to traditional prop firm models for scaling serious traders, with verifiable performance records and payouts tracking through the blockchain, zero take fees, and a simple, one-step evaluation process.”

Vanta Trading offers traders:

  • 100% Profit Split: Eligible traders receive 100% of profits generated using their simulated funded account after passing the Vanta Evaluation, subject to program rules.
  • Simple Evaluation: One step challenge, 8% profit target, clear and transparent rules (many prop firms require two phases and have opaque rules, making it difficult to pass and receive a funded account).
  • Account Scaling Opportunities: Top performers are eligible for free, quarterly scaling opportunities where simulated account size can increase to up to $2.5 million.
  • Verifiable Payouts: By leveraging Vanta Network’s decentralized infrastructure, performance and payouts are verifiable and transparent through the blockchain.

Traders submit their signals through the Vanta Trading Desk, which are then scored and tracked on-chain through Vanta Network’s decentralized infrastructure. Payouts to traders are in USD via Stripe and verifiable through Vanta Network.

There are three tiers for traders:

  • Tier I – $25K account size for $199
  • Tier II – $50K account size for $349
  • Tier III – $100K account size for $549

Rules are consistent across all tiers. During the launch, pricing will be reduced to $149 / $249 / $349. Only funded traders with Tier III accounts will be eligible for scaling opportunities.

Qualified quantitative traders will be offered a free evaluation period, subject to their live trading track or backtesting records. The Vanta Network operates as the underlying engine for Vanta Trading, tracking and validating trader performance, with all records and payouts on the blockchain.

Vanta Trading is a technology platform designed to evaluate and scale trader performance in a simulated environment. It does not provide investment advice, does not execute trades on behalf of customers, and is not a registered broker, dealer, commodity trading advisor, or investment adviser.

About Taoshi

Founded in 2023, Taoshi, Inc. is a leading decentralized intelligence–driven trading technology company focused on expanding access to advanced systematic trading strategies through its transparent blockchain-based infrastructure and sophisticated quantitative research. Taoshi’s platform aggregates and evaluates investing strategies developed by a distributed network of finance-focused contributors, enabling adaptive portfolio construction based on real-time market conditions.

Taoshi’s team includes experienced machine learning thought leaders, data scientists, and quantitative trading professionals with backgrounds in building and operating large-scale trading systems. The company is developing an open, transparent trading ecosystem designed to serve both retail and institutional participants.

More information on Taoshi’s website at www.taoshi.io.

Mantle Unlocks Autonomous Economy with ERC-8004 Deployment 3815

Mantle, the high-performance distribution and liquidity layer for real-world assets, announced the official deployment of the ERC-8004 standard on mainnet. This milestone introduces a specialized trust and identity layer designed to transform AI agents from isolated scripts into sovereign economic participants capable of operating across RWAs, TradFi bridges, and DeFi.

The Trust Gap: Why AI Agents Were Problematic

Until now, on-chain AI agents have faced a “visibility crisis.” Despite their ability to execute code, agents remained invisible to the broader financial system. They lacked a way to build a reputation across different platforms, approve their historical performance, or be discovered outside of the specific ecosystem where they were created.

This gap has prevented autonomous agents from participating in high-stakes financial markets where verifiable records are non-negotiable.

ERC-8004: The Three Components of Agent Autonomy

By deploying ERC-8004, Mantle provides the foundational infrastructure for a trustless “Internet of Agents.” The standard introduces three critical on-chain registries:

  • Identity Registry: Provides a verifiable, NFT-based on-chain identity for every agent, making them discoverable and unique.
  • Reputation Registry: Establishes a portable track record. An agent’s “credit score” or performance history now follows it across platforms, ending the need to start from zero.
  • Validation Registry: Offers cryptographic proof of work completed, allowing agents to verify the accuracy of each other’s outputs through stake-secured or ZK-based mechanisms.

“At Mantle, we are building the liquid layer for the future of finance, where RWAs and DeFi converge.” said by Joshua Cheong, Head of Product at Mantle. “By bringing ERC-8004 to our ecosystem, we are providing AI agents with the ‘credentials’ they need to manage real capital. This isn’t just about automation; it’s about creating a verifiable workforce that can navigate compliance, liquidity, and settlement at scale.”

Bridging the Gap in TradFi and RWAs with ERC-8004

On Mantle, where institutional-grade assets flow seamlessly, these agents serve as the “connective tissue.” With ERC-8004, agents can now discover one another, verify credentials, and transact autonomously without being locked into a single platform. This enables three primary categories of autonomous building:

  1. Financial Strategy Agents: Executing complex yield or trading strategies with a performance history that anyone can audit.
  2. RWA Coordination Agents: Managing the heavy lifting of compliance, custody, and settlement for tokenized assets.
  3. Cross-Market Bridges: Bridging liquidity between traditional legacy systems and on-chain protocols by acting as verifiable intermediaries.

A Unified Ecosystem Is Now Powered by Mantle

ERC-8004 is designed to be backwards-compatible and works in tandem with the protocols agents already use, including the Model Context Protocol (MCP), Agent-to-Agent (A2A) communication, and the x402 payment standard.

By combining these communication and payment standards with Mantle’s massive distribution layer and $4B+ treasury, the network is uniquely positioned to lead the “DeFAI” (Decentralized AI Finance) revolution.

Ethereum is the settlement layer for AI, and with ERC-8004, the future of autonomous finance is officially live on Mantle.

About Mantle

Mantle positions itself as the premier distribution layer and gateway for institutions and TradFi to connect with on-chain liquidity and access real-world assets, powering how real-world finance flows.

With over $4B+ in community-owned assets, Mantle combines credibility, liquidity and scalability with institutional-grade infrastructure to support large-scale adoption. The ecosystem is anchored by $MNT within Bybit, and built out through core ecosystem projects like mETH, fBTC, MI4 and more. This is complemented by Mantle Network’s partnerships with leading issuers and protocols such as Ethena USDe, Ondo USDY, and OP-Succinct.

For more information about Mantle, please visit: mantle.xyz

ID-Bound Unveils “TRIO”: The World’s First Crypto Safe Against Ethereum Access Loss, Theft, and the Looming Quantum Threat 4820

As Ethereum’s market presence expands, so do the risks that keep investors awake at night. Today, ID-Bound officially announces the launch of TRIO, a Crypto Safe designed to eliminate the three greatest existential threats to digital wealth: user error, sophisticated theft, and the “Q-Day” quantum brute-force timeline.

The current crypto landscape is littered with “permanent” losses. As of mid-2025, data suggests that over $3 billion worth of Ethereum has been rendered inaccessible due to forgotten seed phrases or hardware failures. Unlike traditional finance, a lost key in crypto usually means the assets are gone forever. ID-Bound is ending this era of digital fragility.

The TRIO Solution: Solving the “Impossible Trinity” of Crypto Risk

The TRIO solution—comprised of a proprietary Identity layer, a self-custodial, “hot” Wallet, and utility Tokens—addresses the three primary vectors of asset loss:

  1. Immunity to User Error: For the first time, losing your private keys doesn’t mean losing your fortune. If a user loses access, the TRIO platform can replace the tokens via verified identity protocols. Your ETH is no longer a “use it or lose it” asset.
  2. Theft-Proof Architecture: Phishing scams and malware are becoming increasingly indistinguishable from legitimate services, as evidenced by massive platform breaches like the $1.2 billion ByBit hack. Even if a user’s hardware or software is compromised, TRIO tokens are protected by a guarantee against theft, ensuring that hackers cannot drain the “Identity-Bound” safe.
  3. Quantum-Resistant Brute-Force Protection: With Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin noting a non-trivial (20%) chance that quantum computers could break modern cryptography by 2030, the “Harvest Now, Decrypt Later” threat is real. TRIO is designed to withstand brute-force attacks, ensuring assets remain intact even if the private key is compromised.

From Passive Security to Active Yield and Institutional DeFi.

ID-Bound believes that high security shouldn’t mean low utility. While traditional “cold storage” leaves assets unproductive, TRIO allows users to generate a solid yield through a unique collateralization model https://id-bound.com/investments . This setup maximizes the benefits of blockchain technology non-custodial holding and the traditional legal system’s enforceability.

Users can leverage their protected TRIO tokens as risk-free collateral in Fractional Real Estate & Real-World Asset (RWA) Acquisition . In the 2026 market landscape, “RWA Tokenization” has moved from a buzzword to the primary driver of institutional and retail crypto adoption. By combining this with ID-Bound’s unique “Unstealable” architecture, we solve the single biggest barrier to entry: the Trust Gap.

“We are moving past the ‘Seed Phrase Era,’ which was always a stopgap for secure digital ownership,” says Dr. Eli Talmor, Co-Founder of ID-Bound. “With TRIO, we’ve built a safety net that is both quantum-ready and human-error-proof. The use of risk-free TRIO token collateral will form the foundation of Institutional DeFi.”

About ID-Bound

ID-Bound is a blockchain security leader dedicated to making digital asset ownership as safe and intuitive as a traditional bank account, without sacrificing decentralization. Through the TRIO platform, ID-Bound provides the infrastructure for the next billion users to enter the Ethereum ecosystem with total confidence. Join TRIO Public Demonstrator now: https://www.id-bound.com/get-on-board

For more information, visit: www.id-bound.com/newsroom

LeveL Markets and 21X partner to offer tokenized capital markets trading 4660

LeveL Markets, which offers industry-leading connectivity to a diverse international trading ecosystem, today announced a strategic partnership with 21X, the world’s first fully regulated DLT-based trading and settlement system (TSS), to offer digital trading services by connecting traditional financial markets with next-generation, wallet-based trading rails.

The partnership brings together two leading and innovative trading companies, with LeveL Markets’ deep roots in institutional equity trading and 21X’s tokenized market infrastructure. Together, clients can extend established TradFi workflows into digital, wallet-native environments. By tightly integrating these capabilities, the two firms will remove operational and technical friction that has historically limited institutional participation in tokenized markets, enabling access without forcing firms to re-architect their existing trading stacks.

Through this collaboration, LeveL Markets institutional customers will be able to access tokenized financial instruments alongside their existing equity workflows. The partnership is intended to align emerging, wallet-based rails with the tools, protocols and operating models that institutional traders already rely on, creating a foundation for future interoperability. Over time, this approach aims to support a more unified trading environment, where traditional securities and tokenized assets can increasingly co-exist within familiar institutional frameworks.

Steve Miele, CEO at LeveL Markets, stated: “LeveL Markets has always focused on improving execution quality and reducing friction for institutional participants. This partnership with 21X extends that mission into the next generation of market infrastructure, giving our clients seamless access to tokenized instruments while preserving the experience, controls and performance they expect.”

“Institutions want the benefits of tokenization without re-engineering their entire trading stack,” added Max Heinzle, CEO at 21X. “By partnering with LeveL Markets, we will embed wallet-based rails directly into proven institutional workflows, making tokenized markets immediately usable for professional traders.”

The partnership provides a critical gateway for traditional financial (TradFi) institutions to engage with tokenized assets. By leveraging digital wallets, LeveL Markets’ institutional customers will be able to access the efficiencies of 21X’s blockchain-based infrastructure, including atomic settlement, the elimination of settlement failures and reduced intermediary costs without compromising the standards of today’s trading environment.

Together, 21X and LeveL Markets are delivering institutional-grade digital securities trading.

About LeveL Markets

LeveL Markets is a U.S. equities marketplace, trading solutions provider, and the broker-dealer owner and operator of the LeveL Alternative Trading Systems (ATS). With a focus on client service, efficient trade execution, and innovative trading technology, LeveL Markets offers a solutions-driven equities platform that connects institutional and sell-side communities through deep buy-side and sell-side liquidity. Founded and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, its unique ecosystem includes continuous crossing platforms, VWAP order types, and advanced low-latency trading solutions.

For more information on LeveL Markets, contact:
Web: https://https://www.levelmarkets.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/level-markets-llc/
X: https://x.com/levelmarkets

About 21X

21X is a Frankfurt-based financial institution at the forefront of revolutionizing capital markets through the use of blockchain technology. On 8th September 2025, 21X opened the first ever fully regulated distributed ledger technology trading and settlement system (DLT TSS) in the EU, positioning the company as a leader in the transition from traditional to tokenized asset-based capital markets. 21X enables atomic trading without counterparty or credit risk through smart contract-based issuance, trading and settlement of tokenized stocks, bonds and funds.

For more information on 21X, contact:
Web: https://www.21x.eu/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/21x/

DigiFT Introduces First Actively Managed Tokenized Equity Fund with BNY as Investment Management Services Provider 4482

  • First actively managed tokenized equity fund extending tokenization beyond single assets to professionally managed public equity strategies
  • Tokenized on Ethereum and distributed via DigiFT, providing eligible investors a regulated on-chain way to invest
  • Advances institutional adoption of tokenization, building on BNY’s deep investment expertise and DigiFT’s track record of bringing Tier-1 asset manager strategies on-chain

DigiFT, a regulated on-chain exchange for institutional real-world assets, today announced the introduction of DigiFT U.S. Equity Income Fund (“bEQTY”), the first actively managed tokenized U.S. equity income fund on the Ethereum public blockchain.

The launch of bEQTY, which is eligible for accredited investors, represents a significant milestone in the evolution of tokenization—marking a shift from early experimentation with blockchain-based financial instruments toward enabling investors to construct more complete, portfolio-relevant strategies on-chain.

BNY serves as the investment manager for the underlying traditional U.S. equity income strategy which extends tokenization into actively managed public equities. This launch demonstrates how regulated on-chain infrastructure is advancing beyond initial applications to address more sophisticated areas of the capital markets.

Tokenization as institutional portfolio infrastructure

Public equities remain a core component of institutional portfolios. Tokenization introduces a digitally native form factor that enables programmable settlement, enhanced transparency, and more streamlined lifecycle management—without changing the underlying investment strategy or governance framework.

By representing equity income strategies on regulated on-chain infrastructure, eligible investors gain greater flexibility in how sophisticated financial instruments are held, transferred, and integrated into portfolios, supporting more agile capital management.

For Web3-native allocators, as on-chain treasuries and funds mature, there is growing interest in incorporating assets that introduce exposure to the real-economy and are less correlated with crypto-native market cycles.

The launch also illustrates how regulated on-chain marketplaces can support wider institutional participation by enabling eligible investors to access the strategy through DigiFT’s regulated framework.

Henry Zhang, Founder and Group CEO of DigiFT, said: “For years, tokenization has been about proving the technology. This launch proves its use case. By bringing an actively managed equity income strategy on-chain within a regulated market, we’re demonstrating how blockchain infrastructure is becoming part of mainstream institutional finance.”

Doni Shamsuddin, Head of Asia Pacific, BNY Investments, said: “We are thrilled to work with DigiFT in bridging traditional finance and emerging on-chain solutions for institutional investors. Leveraging BNY’s deep investment capabilities, we enable a professionally managed portfolio on blockchain — anchored in established trust, scale, and governance.”

From experimentation to portfolio-relevant strategies

Tokenization has gained early traction in short-duration and cash-like instruments, demonstrating the operational benefits of blockchain within regulated frameworks.

As tokenization matures, extending its capabilities into actively managed public equities represents a natural next phase—moving beyond single assets toward actively managed strategies within regulated market infrastructure.

About DigiFT

DigiFT is a next-generation exchange for tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC). The platform offers end-to-end digital asset services—including tokenization, issuance, distribution, trading, and instant liquidity provision—purpose-built for institutional RWAs. Trusted by global financial institutions, DigiFT is the on-chain tokenization and distribution partner for leading asset managers such as Invesco, UBS Asset Management, and Wellington Management. For more information, visit https://digift.io

About BNY

BNY is a global financial services platforms company at the heart of the world’s capital markets. For more than 240 years BNY has partnered alongside clients, using its expertise and platforms to help them operate more efficiently and accelerate growth. Today BNY serves over 90% of Fortune 100 companies and nearly all the top 100 banks globally. BNY supports governments in funding local projects and works with over 90% of the top 100 pension plans to safeguard investments for millions of individuals. As of December 31, 2025, BNY oversees $59.3 trillion in assets under custody and/or administration and $2.2 trillion in assets under management.

BNY is the corporate brand of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation. Headquartered in New York City, BNY has been named among Fortune’s World’s Most Admired Companies and Fast Company’s Best Workplaces for Innovators. Additional information is available on www.bny.com.

How TruTrade Is Helping Redefine Capital Access in Professional Trading 4028

Traders Shift Focus From Strategy Alone to Scalable Capital Infrastructure

As global financial markets grow increasingly competitive, professional and independent traders alike are recognizing a critical shift: success is no longer defined by strategy alone, but by access to scalable capital and disciplined infrastructure. Addressing this evolution, QuickFund AI, a service offered through TruTrade, enables qualified traders to operate with funded capital while maintaining full control over their trading decisions.

For years, retail traders focused almost exclusively on indicators, setups, and technical strategies, often while operating under severe capital constraints. These limitations frequently forced traders into over-leveraging, emotional decision-making, and inconsistent execution. Industry leaders increasingly point to capital structure—not strategy quality—as one of the primary barriers preventing traders from scaling responsibly.

“Capital determines how effectively a strategy can be deployed,” said Danny Rebello, CEO and Co-Founder of TruTrade. “Without adequate capital, traders are forced to compromise risk management, timing, and diversification. That’s where most breakdowns occur.”

QuickFund AI was developed to address this structural imbalance. Rather than requiring traders to risk significant personal funds, the service provides access to funded accounts designed to support disciplined, rules-based execution. This approach mirrors institutional trading environments, where exposure is distributed across multiple accounts and systems rather than concentrated into a single position.

Importantly, TruTrade does not trade on behalf of users, manage client funds, provide investment advice, or guarantee results. All trading decisions remain entirely under the trader’s control. QuickFund AI functions strictly as a capital-access and operational framework for qualified traders using TruTrade-compatible software.

“Funding is not a shortcut,” said Brian Nutt, COO and Co-Founder of TruTrade. “Capital amplifies whatever habits a trader already has. Discipline, structure, and risk control are still the deciding factors.”

The rapid adoption of funded trading models reflects a broader maturation of the retail trading ecosystem. Traders are shifting away from speculation-driven approaches and toward professional standards built on accountability, consistency, and infrastructure.

As market volatility persists and competition intensifies, capital efficiency—not hype—is emerging as the true competitive edge.

For more information, visit https://trutrade.io.

About TruTrade

TruTrade is a trading software company providing data-driven tools, analytics, and AI-supported automation designed to assist self-directed traders. TruTrade does not manage funds, execute trades, or provide investment advice.

About QuickFund AI

QuickFund AI is a funding facilitation service for qualified traders using TruTrade-compatible software, providing access to funded trading accounts while maintaining strict compliance boundaries.