Robinhood expands its crypto offerings with three major tokens despite market headwinds, as Bitcoin struggles below $109K and trading volumes drop 22% week-over-week.
By Ibrahim Ajibade
Editor Marco T. Lanz
Updated
2 mins read
Leading digital assets trading platform, Robinhood US, has officially listed Binance’s ASTER, Tether’s Plasma (XPL), and Virtuals Protocol (Virtuals) for trading on October 16. The move expands Robinhood’s trading offerings to newly emerged crypto communities.
ASTER, a newly launched BNB Chain-native protocol, has gained rapid traction rallying triple digits to hit peak market capitalization of $3.9 billion in September, less than 30 days post-launch.
$ASTER, $XPL, and $VIRTUAL are now available to trade on Robinhood. pic.twitter.com/ZgP0TN2PqH
— Robinhood (@RobinhoodApp) October 16, 2025
Backed by the third largest DeFi ecosystem globally, ASTER serves as a liquidity optimization layer connecting BNB Chain, opBNB, to other cross-chain DeFi markets.
Aster is not a BNB Chain exclusive perp dex. It supports multiple chains natively.
It also support hidden orders. Different from other perp dex designs.
— CZ 🔶 BNB (@cz_binance) September 20, 2025
Binance co-founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao has publicly endorsed ASTER, emphasizing its unique design relative to existing decentralized exchanges.
Robinhood’s listing of the Binance-linked token amplifies strategic alignment among key industry stakeholders. The news comes after Coinbase added BNB to its roadmap on Wednesday, in line with its newly updated “Blue Carpet” merit-based listing documentation.
We just rolled out the Blue Carpet for asset issuers.
The same free, merit-based process, now with more access and collaboration. https://t.co/upaNDg6KiV
— Coinbase 🛡️ (@coinbase) October 15, 2025
Similarly, Tether’s Plasma (XPL), also launched in September, has emerged as a front-runner in the Real-World Asset (RWA) sector, attracting $6 billion in total value locked by October 9.
Built to tokenize the US Treasuries and other securities backing Tether’s $180 billion supply in circulation, Plasma enables on-chain settlement and yield distribution for institutional investors.
Robinhood also listed Virtuals Protocol (VIRTUALS), an AI-agent infrastructure network that allows developers and businesses to deploy autonomous digital agents capable of executing smart contracts and managing DeFi portfolios.
Robinhood (HOOD) Stock Price Action, October 16, 2025 | Source: NASDAQ
Despite the bullish listings, overall sentiment remains cautious. Crypto market volumes fell 22% week-on-week, while Bitcoin’s BTC $107 939 24h volatility: 3.2% Market cap: $2.15 T Vol. 24h: $83.80 B drop below $109,000 continues to weigh on altcoin momentum.
Robinhood stock slipped 1.9% to $131.5 per share, extending its five-day loss to 12% in correlation with the crypto market, which has remained fragile following a record-setting $19 billion liquidation event last Friday.
Disclaimer: Coinspeaker is committed to providing unbiased and transparent reporting. This article aims to deliver accurate and timely information but should not be taken as financial or investment advice. Since market conditions can change rapidly, we encourage you to verify information on your own and consult with a professional before making any decisions based on this content.
Ibrahim Ajibade is a seasoned research analyst with a background in supporting various Web3 startups and financial organizations. He earned his undergraduate degree in Economics and is currently studying for a Master’s in Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technologies at the University of Malta.
