By
Bhushan Akolkar
May 10th, 2024
Robinhood’s clients in the European Union can buy and sell 25 tokens via a commission-free app.
Robinhood Markets Inc (NASDAQ: HOOD) has announced today a commission-free crypto trading application available to users in the European Union. The announcement comes only a week after the company launched stock-broking services in the UK.
Via the app, Robinhood’s customers can buy and sell more than 25 different digital assets, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Solana (SOL).
“It is the only custodial crypto platform where customers will get a percentage of their trading volume back every month, paid in Bitcoin (BTC),” a blog post reads.
Users to Earn Up To 1 BTC on Robinhood’s Commission-Free App
Robinhood’s publication also details perks users can enjoy, including up to 1 BTC upon signing up and referring a friend. The company offers users “industry-leading safety and security”, boasting the “lowest cost” for crypto trading platforms in the EU on average.
Robinhood explains that the commission-free app will display the applicable spread to promote transparency and help customers make better-informed decisions. In addition, the app will also display the rebate Robinhood receives from customer trades, confirming to customers that there are no hidden charges.
According to Robinhood Crypto’s GM Johann Kerbrat, crypto is the financial framework of the future, helping the company in its mission to democratize finance. Kerbrat explained that this is the motivation behind expanding crypto trading throughout the EU. On the company’s decision to launch in the EU, Kerbrat said:
“The EU has developed one of the world’s most comprehensive policies for crypto asset regulation, which is why we chose the region to anchor Robinhood Crypto’s international expansion plans.”
In August, Robinhood’s self-custody web3 wallet announced support for Bitcoin and Dogecoin. The wallet allows users to swap assets in-app over the Ethereum network. In the same month, the company became the third-largest Bitcoin holder in the industry. Blockchain analytics platform Arkham Intelligence had begun investigating an unknown wallet that was quietly amassing Bitcoin for months. According to Arkham, the wallet now contains $3 billion worth of BTC, only behind Bitfinex’s $4.3 billion and Binance’s $6.4 billion.
Robinhood Challenges
Despite these successes, Robinhood’s report for Q3 2023 revealed that crypto trading revenue fell by 55%. The report showed that this revenue decreased to $23 million, following a 1% fall in Q1 and a further 18% plunge in Q2. In addition, transaction-based revenues fell 11% year-over-year to $185 million. Also, monthly active users (MAU) decreased by 16% YoY to $10.3 million.
The plunge in crypto trading revenue may be because Robinhood decided to delist assets the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) considers securities. In May, as part of lawsuits filed against Binance and Coinbase, the SEC classified 19 tokens as securities. Some of these include BNB Smart Chain (BNB), Algorand (ALGO), Cardano (ADA), Polygon (MATIC), Solana (SOL), Decentraland (MANA), Sandbox (SAND), and Dash (DASH).
In June, Coinspeaker reported Robinhood’s plan to lay off 7% of its workforce, the third round of layoffs in a little over a year. The company had first cut 9% in April last year, and another 23% in August.