"Bitcoin is the most recurring purchase among our users, even more than many stocks they could think of," Robinhood chief product officer Aparna Chennapragada said this afternoon.
During the Bitcoin Conference 2022, Chennapragada stated that Bitcoin is the most repurchased asset on the investment platform, ahead of Tesla and Apple.
In this context, the executive announced that Robinhood is enabling its wallet for two million users, who will be able to send and receive bitcoins (quotation BTC) beyond the Robinhood ecosystem.
Until now, this function was not available, as you could only buy and sell within the platform, without the possibility of making or receiving external transfers. You will now be able to transfer bitcoins to and from wallets such as Ledger or Trezor.
In September last year, the investment firm started a program to develop its portfolio, which had one million users in January. The program has been enriched by the feedback from users who have participated in the test during these months, who have helped to add features such as easy-to-understand explanations on how to transact with cryptocurrencies.
“This is a very clear turning point to normalize and allow many more people to enter the world of cryptocurrencies and bitcoin,” Chennapragada said of Robihood's users' predilection for investing in an asset.
Bitcoin's Lightning Network has arrived on Robinhood
Chennapragada also announced the integration of the Lightning Network into the Robinhood wallet to exchange bitcoins quickly and cheaply. In doing so, it joins other companies such as Kraken who have recently adopted this second tier Bitcoin payment network.
The Lightning Network is a solution for exchanging bitcoins through payment channels, allowing its users to establish exchanges without waiting times and in a secure way. Among the advances of this payment network that uses bitcoin, we can count the development of a function to issue and exchange tokens and stablecoins such as USDT.
Bitcoin trading is Robinhood's future
Trading Bitcoin on Robinhood in the fourth quarter of last year generated approximately $ 43 million in transaction-based revenue. This was 79% lower than the previous quarter, according to Bloomberg, which generated $ 233 million in revenue over that period. However, today's announcements show that the company is betting on a future where bitcoin will take center stage.
Currently, Robinhood allows trading of bitcoin, litecoin (LTC), ethereum classic (ETC), ether (ETH) and dogecoin (DOGE). During the Robihood announcement, Chennapragada expressed the company's willingness to move towards a greater commitment to bitcoin adoption.
