ARK Invest’s Chief Criticizes Robinhood Chain: Unreasonable Revenue Distribution—Ethereum Settlement Layer “Only Takes 0.15%”

ARK Invest research director Lorenzo Valente pointed out that since the launch of Robinhood Chain, using Ethereum as the settlement layer has only generated about $1,538 in revenue, accounting for just 0.15% of total revenue. In the same day, Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin also posted that L1 fees should be kept low.

(Background: Robinhood Chain suddenly went viral—who won among DeFi protocols? | Tom Lee calls out: Ethereum is entering the "ETH 2.0 phase")
(Extra context: Bitmine scoops up another 2.7 ten thousand ETH! Tom Lee: expects to achieve the "5% minting alchemy" target within 2026)

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• Revenue allocation: 89%, 10%, 0.15%
• Valente’s assessment: the reasonable split should be 75%, 10%, 15%
• What happened at the same time: Uniswap makes $5.2 million a day for comparison

On July 14, ARK Invest research director Lorenzo Valente posted on X, highlighting a revenue allocation issue for Robinhood Chain: since its launch, total revenue is about $816k, of which middleware supplier Arbitrum has taken about 10% (about $80k). Ethereum L1 as the final settlement layer only receives $1,538, or roughly 0.15%. Based on the data from Valente’s original tweet, the profit structure among the three parties is clearly visible.

Revenue allocation: 89%, 10%, 0.15%

Valente broke down the account with a simple set of numbers. Since Robinhood Chain launched, the profit structure of the three major participants is as follows:

• Robinhood: about 89% (about $725k)
• Arbitrum (middle layer L2): about 10% (about $80k)
• Ethereum (L1 settlement layer): about 0.15% (about $1,538)

Do the math: the money Ethereum gets is barely enough for a cup of an Americano plus a metro ticket. But don’t forget that Robinhood Chain’s transactions ultimately settle on Ethereum L1—the trust anchor of the whole chain.

Valente’s assessment: a more reasonable allocation should be 75%, 10%, 15%

Valente’s view is very direct. He said that if you treat ETH as money, Robinhood building DeFi chains in the Ethereum ecosystem is a bullish signal; but if you treat ETH as an income-generating asset, then this is actually a bearish situation. He noted that Robinhood chose Ethereum based on technical strength and customization requirements, not a single L1 like Solana or Sui, but Ethereum has been selling its most valuable settlement layer at the margin cost, and the market has not provided the correct pricing.

He believes a more reasonable distribution would be Robinhood 75%, Arbitrum 10%, and Ethereum 15%. This lines up with what Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin said on the same day—Lubin said Ethereum L1 fees should stay low, and that within the next 2–3 years, tens of thousands of companies will operate based on the Ethereum ecosystem, with ETH’s monetary premium set to grow significantly.

What happened at the same time: Uniswap makes $5.2 million a day for comparison

On the same day, Uniswap founder Hayden Adams also released public data showing that Uniswap’s daily fee revenue reaches as much as $5.2 million, ranking only behind Tether and Circle among all crypto protocols. For comparison, Robinhood Chain’s total revenue over the first two weeks is about $816k, averaging about $116k per day. Meanwhile, the daily average amount Ethereum receives is under $220.

In short: Robinhood Chain’s popularity is obvious to all, but the Ethereum settlement layer that actually puts transactions on-chain has almost not taken any share. This isn’t just a problem with Robinhood Chain—it's that the revenue distribution of the entire Ethereum L2 ecosystem is consolidating on-chain.

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