Robinhood Will Continue Crypto Push But Won’t Invest in Bitcoin: CEO
Brokerage firm Robinhood has no immediate plans to invest in Bitcoin, despite its growing focus on the crypto sector.
In a recent interview, CEO Vladimir Tenev said that while the idea occasionally surfaces, the company remains focused on its core business of facilitating trading rather than holding Bitcoin for investment purposes.
“We wouldn’t rule it out, but we haven’t done it thus far,” Tenev remarked during an interview with Anthony Pompliano. “We’re not in the business of being an investment manager.”
Robinhood’s Stock Already Mirrors Bitcoin Performance
Tenev acknowledged that Robinhood’s stock already closely mirrors Bitcoin’s performance, without the company needing to hold the cryptocurrency in its treasury.
Robinhood shares have surged 202% this year, outpacing Bitcoin’s 110% year-to-date gain.
However, Tenev noted that adding Bitcoin to the company’s balance sheet might confuse investors and lead to Robinhood being perceived as a “quasi-Bitcoin-holding play.”
Despite its cautious approach to direct crypto investments, Robinhood continues to expand its crypto offerings.
The company has fewer listed digital assets compared to competitors like Coinbase and Kraken, but this conservative strategy is expected to evolve.
Analysts at Bernstein recently identified Robinhood as the leading “crypto deregulation trade” in the current market cycle, predicting a 20% increase in the platform’s crypto revenues by 2025, potentially accounting for 38% of total revenues.
Further solidifying its crypto ambitions, Robinhood plans to finalize its acquisition of crypto exchange Bitstamp by mid-2025.
More recently, the firm announced a $300 million acquisition of TradePMR to expand its wealth management services.
According to a statement from the company, the acquisition is expected to close in the first half of 2025 and will be part of Robinhood’s strategy to cater to evolving customer needs in wealth management.
In October, Robinhood also announced its plans to support Bitcoin and Ether futures, alongside traditional commodities like oil and the S&P 500, as part of a larger rollout of derivatives products.
The development came after the crypto trading platform’s reported plans to list crypto futures in the U.S. and Europe.
Corporate Investors Increase Bitcoin Holdings
Robinhood’s decision to stay away from Bitcoin investment comes despite growing confidence in the leading cryptocurrency among corporate investors.
On Monday, MicroStrategy added another 5,262 BTC to its reserves, spending $561 million at an average price of $106,662 per Bitcoin.
The latest purchase brings the company’s total holdings to an impressive 444,262 BTC, accumulated at an average cost of $62,257 per Bitcoin.
On the same day, Japanese investment firm Metaplanet made its largest Bitcoin purchase to date, acquiring nearly 620 BTC.
On December 23, the company announced the $60 million acquisition of 619.7 BTC at an average price of approximately $96,000 per coin, nearly quadrupling its previous record buy of 159.7 BTC in October.
Likewise, MARA Holdings (MARA) bought 11,774 BTC in the latest acquisition, the company announced on X on Dec. 10.
Riot Platforms, a Bitcoin mining company, also announced plans to raise $500 million through a private bond offering to bolster its Bitcoin reserves further.
Source: cryptonews.com
