Robinhood’s Crypto Wallet Plans May Spur Similar Moves By Competitors

In a bid to facilitate the use of cryptoassets, US online trading platform Robinhood is reportedly testing a new crypto wallet and crypto transfer functionalities for its app. This could place the platform ahead of competitors who currently pool their customers’ crypto holdings – and push them in the same direction.

This latest development has been indicated by the revealed beta version of the app’s version for Apple’s iOS operational system. 

The new software comprises a hidden image showing a waitlist page for customers signing up for a crypto wallet feature, as well as code related to crypto transfers, Bloomberg reported.

The move follows statements by Vlad Tenev, CEO of Robinhood, who said in a call, following the firm’s earnings release for the second quarter of 2021, that adding crypto wallets was “something that our teams are working on.”

“The ability to deposit and withdraw cryptocurrencies is tricky to do with scale, and we want to make sure it’s done correctly and properly,” the executive said.

Robinhood’s new functionalities are likely to spur similar developments at other trading platforms, as competition for crypto-using customers continues to amplify.

While competitors such as the UK-based Revolut are also developing crypto-focused functionalities for their customers, many of them do not provide individual crypto wallets to users. 

“We aren’t issuing individual wallets at the moment. Once purchased, your cryptocurrencies are securely stored in a ‘pooled’ virtual currency account,” Revolut says on its website.

Last September, Robinhood rolled out crypto recurring investments, allowing its users to buy cryptoassets on a regular basis, commission-free and starting at USD 1 on a daily, weekly, biweekly, or monthly schedule. 

The platform was not the first industry player to provide such a feature to its users, with Revolut also offering the recurring buy functionality to its customers. However, Robinhood’s commission-free offer was designed to lure customers away from its competition.

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Learn more:

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