Arcus has launched pTokens on Robinhood Chain, turning managed perpetuals trading accounts into transferable ERC-20 tokens that can be held, traded, or potentially used across onchain lending markets. The product gives users a tokenized claim on a defined Arcus perpetuals account rather than requiring them to manage the account’s collateral and margin directly.
Each pToken represents pro-rata ownership of an underlying Arcus account configured for a particular market and leverage level, according to Arcus. A pBTC token, for example, can represent Bitcoin perpetuals exposure, while versions such as pBTC3x package three-times leveraged long or short exposure into a token format.
The design places perpetuals exposure inside the same technical rails used by standard ERC-20 assets. Holders could move a pToken between wallets or use it in protocols that choose to support it, rather than leaving the exposure confined to a single derivatives interface. That connection between derivatives positions and decentralized finance applications is the main change introduced by the launch.
Perpetuals exposure becomes a transferable asset
Perpetual futures accounts normally require users to post margin, select leverage, monitor account balances, and manage the risk that adverse price moves can reduce available collateral. Arcus requires perpetuals margin to be posted in USDG, according to the project.
pTokens separate the ownership of that managed exposure from the daily handling of the underlying account. The holder owns the ERC-20 token, while the token tracks a share of the account established for the selected market and leverage profile.
Arcus said its initial products cover BTC, SOL, and HYPE. The lineup includes one-times and three-times long and short Bitcoin products, including pBTC and pBTC3x. It also includes leveraged tokenized equity exposure, such as pHOOD3x, which offers three-times long exposure to HOOD.
The structure could make perpetuals positions easier to integrate with lending protocols or wallet-based portfolio tools, but it does not remove the financial risks attached to leverage. A token representing a three-times perpetuals strategy remains exposed to amplified gains and losses in the underlying market. Its transferability also means users need to understand both the token’s market exposure and the rules of any outside protocol where it is deposited or borrowed against.
Stock tokens join collateral system
Alongside pTokens, Arcus introduced multi-asset collateral, a feature allowing eligible stock tokens to support perpetuals positions through a USDG loan. The borrowed USDG is used as margin and to cover losses on the perpetuals account.
At launch, the eligible collateral list includes SPY, QQQ, and MAG7 stock tokens. Arcus set the initial loan-to-value ratio at 50% for each asset. In practical terms, that limit means a user would be able to borrow up to 50 cents in USDG for every dollar of eligible collateral value, subject to the protocol’s terms and market conditions.
The feature addresses a constraint for holders of tokenized equities who want derivatives exposure without first selling their stock tokens. Selling the tokens can end the equity position; borrowing USDG against them allows the holder to retain that exposure while supplying margin for a perpetuals trade.
The arrangement also layers borrowing risk on top of trading risk. A decline in the value of the stock token collateral reduces the buffer behind the USDG loan, while losses on the perpetuals position can create additional pressure on the account. The 50% initial loan-to-value ratio provides a starting cushion, although users would need to assess the applicable borrowing costs and protocol risk parameters before using the feature.
Robinhood chain provides the settlement layer
The products are launching on Robinhood Chain, an Ethereum layer 2 network built with Arbitrum’s technology stack. Robinhood Chain entered public mainnet on July 1 with support for tokenized stocks, decentralized lending, and perpetual futures.
Dashboard data for the network shows more than $600 million in total value locked and more than $26 billion in cumulative decentralized exchange volume. Those figures indicate that Arcus is entering an environment already built around the types of assets and lending functions needed for pTokens and multi-asset collateral.
Arcus reported more than $250 million in trading volume, average daily volume above $33 million, and $18 million in total value locked. The project also said more than 85,000 users had joined its perpetuals waitlist.
Those figures remain small beside the largest onchain derivatives venues, but the launch focuses less on raw trading volume than on how an existing perpetuals position can be represented. Packaging a managed derivatives account as an ERC-20 token gives lending markets, wallets, and other applications a standard asset format with which to interact.
A narrower route into composable derivatives
The model differs from simply issuing a token that tracks an index price. Each pToken is tied to an actual Arcus perpetuals account set at a fixed market and leverage level, leaving its holders exposed to the performance and operating mechanics of that account.
That design could appeal to users who want defined perpetuals exposure without opening and actively maintaining a separate margin account. It also gives developers a clearer object to integrate: an ERC-20 token with a specified underlying strategy, rather than a user’s isolated derivatives balance.
Arcus’s launch therefore extends Robinhood Chain’s tokenized-stock and lending infrastructure into perpetuals markets, allowing defined leveraged positions to circulate as onchain assets. Whether pTokens gain traction will depend on protocol integrations, liquidity, borrowing terms, and whether users are comfortable treating leveraged derivatives exposure as collateral-grade tokens rather than as positions held inside a trading account.
Curious how tokenized stocks fit into this trend? Explore tokenized equities and how they work next.
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