June 30 (Reuters) - Robinhood said on Monday it

has launched tokens that will allow its customers in the

European Union to trade more than 200 U.S. stocks and

exchange-traded funds, including Nvidia ( NVDA ), Apple ( AAPL )

and Microsoft ( MSFT ).

The commission-free tokens can be traded around-the-clock,

five days a week, the trading platform said on Monday. They will

be issued through a partnership with blockchain firm Arbitrum.

With the move, Robinhood stands to benefit from rising

global interest in the U.S. stock market - home to some of the

world's most influential tech giants and leading beneficiaries

of the AI boom.

Tokenized equities mix traditional finance with crypto-like

trading, and have been gaining traction among international

investors due to the better access, flexible trading hours and

lower costs.

Experts believe such tokens could dramatically alter the

securities investing landscape. In a January opinion piece for

The Washington Post, Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev wrote tokenization

could also open the door for retail investors to access private

companies' stocks.

Menlo Park, California-based Robinhood plans to eventually

develop its own blockchain that will expand trading hours for

tokens to 24/7 from 24/5 currently, it said.

Last month, crypto exchange Kraken also launched

equities-linked tokens for non-U.S. investors.

EXPANDING CRYPTO TOOLS

Robinhood also announced several new product offerings,

including crypto perpetual futures for its EU customers and

staking for U.S. users.

The perpetual futures will allow users to make leveraged

bets on the prices of cryptocurrencies. Unlike traditional

futures, they have no expiry date.

Rival Coinbase will also begin offering similar

tools to U.S. customers from next month.

Meanwhile, staking lets customers lock up their

cryptocurrency to help validate transactions on the blockchain,

earning rewards in return.

The practice had been controversial in recent years, until

the Securities and Exchange Commission's staff last month said

some forms of staking are not securities offerings.