Arcus launches leveraged ETF-style pTokens on Robinhood Chain

Arcus, a decentralised exchange built by the team behind dYdX, has launched leveraged ETF-style contracts on Robinhood Chain that tokenise perpetuals into pTokens. The pTokens are ERC-20 tokens that let traders buy and trade transferable leveraged exposure while using assets held in perpetuals accounts as collateral.

The pToken converts an Arcus perpetuals account into a transferable ERC-20 token. Each pToken represents a pro-rata ownership stake in the underlying account at a fixed market and leverage level. Holders can trade pTokens on spot venues while gaining leveraged or inverse exposure without directly managing margin, collateral or a perpetuals account.

Arcus listed preliminary tokens including pBTC and pBTC3x, intended to provide 1x and 3x long and short BTC exposure, and pHOOD3x, intended to provide 3x long HOOD exposure. The rollout also covers other digital assets such as SOL and HYPE and aims to include leveraged versions of tokenised stock tokens.

Arcus described the product as the first on-chain offering that mimics leveraged exchange-traded funds by transforming managed perpetuals accounts into tokenised, transferable assets. The firm noted that tokenised collateral mobility could allow financial institutions to reduce liquidity buffers, lower capital requirements and better manage periods of market stress.

Arcus reported that 52% of global financial institutions expect to be actively managing live tokenised collateral by the end of 2026.

Eddie Zhang, founder and CEO of Arcus, commented: “With pTokens, we’re transforming managed perpetuals accounts into transferable on-chain assets, creating a new way for traders to access leveraged exposure while expanding what’s possible for tokenised markets.”

Perpetuals are derivative contracts that let traders hold long or short positions with no expiry date and typically require margin and collateral management. Leveraged ETF-style products package leverage and derivative exposure into a single tradable instrument; Arcus’ pTokens package managed perpetual positions into standard ERC-20 shares that can move freely on-chain while the underlying perpetuals account remains operational.