Robinhood launched tokenized stock trading in Europe today, testing the mechanics of a blockchain-powered future for retail stock traders while crypto regulation continues to take shape in the U.S.

• 📈 The announcement, one of several crypto-based initiatives unveiled by Robinhood today, sent shares surging nearly 13% to a new all-time high.

The big picture: A number of companies have announced similar stock tokenization plans, all aimed at making equities trading simpler, cheaper and more convenient — but experts warn they face significant hurdles.

🔧 How it works: Robinhood will own the shares backing the tokens.

• Holders of the tokenized stocks would accrue proportional dividends, but would not have voting rights, a company spokesperson told Bloomberg.

Robinhood is offering "stock tokens" for more than 200 U.S. names and exchange-traded funds, including Nvidia, Microsoft, Apple and the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, the company said.

• 🇪🇺 That would immediately present an easier way for European customers to access U.S. stocks, with trading available 24 hours a day, five days a week.
• 🤑 Robinhood also said it would make stock tokens of privately held stocks — including OpenAI and SpaceX — available to eligible European customers later this summer.

Zoom out: "Our latest offerings lay the groundwork for crypto to become the backbone of the global financial system," Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev said in a statement.

Stocks ended at new highs again today, with the S&P 500 closing out its best quarter since Q4 2023.

Zoom in: It was a nauseating ride.

• Investors spent much of the quarter gauging trade tensions, growth fears, inflation worries and world conflicts, but ultimately pulled the index up by 25% from its April low.

💭 Our thought bubble, via Axios senior markets reporter Madison Mills: Since the market bottom of 2022, the S&P 500 is up over 70%. This puts the stock market in Year 3 of a bull market, which is a year that's typically choppy. Expect more volatility to come.

🔨 Home Depot won a bidding war for GMS, agreeing to acquire the building-products distributor in a deal valued at $5.5 billion, including debt. (WSJ)

☁️ Oracle disclosed in a securities filing that it has signed "multiple large cloud services" deals this year, including one expected to bring in more than $30 billion annually starting in its fiscal 2028 year. The company's stock hit an all-time high.

The war for AI talent ramped up over the last week, with Meta reportedly hiring multiple researchers away from OpenAI.

Catch up quick: Meta signed four away on Friday, The Information and Bloomberg reported separately Saturday.

• That followed four other researchers jumping to Meta reported days before, per The Information's report.

What they said: Friday's hires prompted OpenAI's chief resource officer Mark Chen to send a memo to staff Saturday promising to fight to retain the company's talent, within reason, according to a Wired report.

• "I feel a visceral feeling right now, as if someone has broken into our home and stolen something," Chen reportedly wrote.

💰Context: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has become personally involved in creating a new "superintelligence" team for its AI platform, and is reportedly splashing out nine-figure packages to hire top talent.

As Americans prepare to light up the skies this Fourth of July, the fireworks industry is sounding the alarm: without tariff relief, the nation's 250th birthday celebration in 2026 could be in jeopardy, Axios' Kelly Tyko writes

The big picture: 99% of consumer fireworks and 90% of professional display fireworks used in the U.S. come from China.

• And a looming tariff burden on Chinese imports is sparking fears of higher costs, supply shortages and even canceled shows

What they're saying: "If the tariff increases again back up to triple digits — let's say 145% — it will cripple this industry," Julie Heckman, executive director of the American Pyrotechnics Association, told Axios.

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