Robinhood confirms crypto wallet feature on app starting in October
Trading app Robinhood has opened up a waitlist to test a crypto wallet for users to hold their tokens.
According to a Wednesday blog post, Robinhood plans to start testing a digital wallet feature on its app that enables users to send and receive cryptocurrencies in October. The move may encourage more Robinhood users to use the app for crypto trading, as it currently only allows them to buy crypto with United States dollars and trade on the platform — users can’t deposit or withdraw in crypto.
Robinhood did not specify which tokens the digital wallet would support, but the app currently provides commission-free trading for Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Litecoin (LTC), Bitcoin SV (BSV), Dogecoin (DOGE), and Ethereum Classic (ETC). The company said it planned for the wallets to have security features, including identity verification, multi-factor authentication, and email and phone verification “to keep coins safe from hacks and other threats.”
The trading app experienced a surge in popularity earlier this year, likely due to retail investors from Reddit purchasing DOGE in an attempt to pump up the price. Since that time, Robinhood has made more options available to crypto traders, including a recurring investment feature that allows users to purchase multiple crypto assets on a daily, weekly, bi-weekly or monthly basis.
Related: Robinhood’s crypto business explodes in the first quarter despite GameStop controversy
Robinhood debuted crypto trading three years ago, with trading volume growing significantly in the last year. The company generated $5 million in crypto trading services for all of 2020, but $233 million in the second quarter of 2021 — this represented 41% of its $565 million quarterly revenue.