Vladimir Tenev

May 4, 2020 at 6:06 p.m. UTC

Updated Jan 26, 2024 at 7:13 p.m. UTC

Born in 1986, Vladimir Tenev is the co-founder and co-CEO of no-commission brokerage company Robinhood, which he launched in 2013 with Baiju Bhatt. Tenev and Bhatt met at Stanford University during their undergraduate studies.

Robinhood offers a smartphone app that allows individuals to invest in public companies, exchange-traded funds listed on the U.S. stock exchanges, trade options and invest in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies without paying a commission.

Robinhood formally launched cryptocurrency trading in 2018 by allowing users in five different U.S. states to trade 14 cryptocurrencies. Later that year, the company announced a $363 million funding round with the aim of making Robinhood the largest cryptocurrency trading platform. In 2019, Robinhood received its BitLicense for New York State, allowing users to trade seven different cryptocurrencies.

Tenev made Forbes’ 30 under 30 list for Finance in 2016 for his role at Robinhood.

This article was originally published on May 4, 2020 at 6:06 p.m. UTC

Disclosure

Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.

CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.