Robinhood Chain Weighs Paid Transaction Priority Using Arbitrum’s New Gas Auction System

Robinhood Chain, the Layer-2 network built for tokenized real-world financial assets, is considering a system that would let traders pay for priority on certain transactions, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be named. The technology comes from Arbitrum, which supplies the infrastructure behind the chain. Today, Robinhood Chain processes transactions on a first-come, first-served basis and has never used Arbitrum’s earlier Timeboost tool, which gave users a 200-millisecond head start.

Arbitrum Replaces Timeboost With Priority Gas Auctions

On Sept. 24, Arbitrum swapped Timeboost for Priority Gas Auctions, where traders pay higher fees to push individual transactions ahead of others. This newer model is the one Robinhood Chain is reportedly looking at.

Why Paid Transaction Priority Matters

Since launching in July, the Ethereum compatible chain has climbed into the top 10 blockchains by total value locked. Robinhood’s brokerage has long earned money from payment for order flow, but paid priority on a blockchain works differently. It lets professional firms compete for opportunities that vanish in fractions of a second.

Fee-based ordering could also curb frontrunning of visible blockchain trades, known as maximal extractable value, and level the field for firms wanting faster access, similar to high-frequency trading on Wall Street. Robinhood declined to comment, and Off-Chain Labs did not immediately respond.