Latest news with #VladTenev
Bloomberg
12 hours ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Robinhood Pushes Beyond Retail Trading
Robinhood posted second-quarter revenue that beat Wall Street estimates, boosted by strength in cryptocurrency trading. Total net revenue climbed 45% from a year earlier to $989 million, the company said Wednesday in a statement. That topped the $921.5 million average estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Net income more than doubled to $386 million, or 42 cents a share, also better than expected. Cryptocurrency revenue increased 98% to $160 million, just missing a sixth consecutive quarter of triple-digit growth. Analysts expected crypto revenue of $162.1 million. Robinhood wants to go global and serve more than just retail customers, says CEO Vlad Tenev. Second-quarter earnings beat estimates and the company is now worth more than Intel. Tenev talks about expansion plans with Matt Miller and Sonali Basak on Bloomberg's Open Interest. (Source: Bloomberg)
Crypto Insight
12 hours ago
- Business
- Crypto Insight
Robinhood crypto revenue doubles as CEO bets big on asset tokenization
Trading platform Robinhood's crypto revenue increased 98% year-on-year to $160 million in the second quarter as CEO Vlad Tenev doubled down on plans to lead the real-world asset tokenization market in the US and abroad. Total net revenue climbed 45% year-on-year to $989 million, while net income increased by 105% to $386 million, Robinhood said in its earnings statement on Wednesday. Despite beating Wall Street expectations, company shares slightly retraced in after-hours trading. Crypto volumes also increased 32% in the quarter to $28 billion as the crypto market cap grew 21.7% to $3.36 trillion. Robinhood wants to tokenize hard-to-reach alternative assets 'We believe tokenization is the biggest innovation our industry has seen in the past decade,' the CEO said after Robinhood late last month rolled out a tokenization-focused layer 2 blockchain — Robinhood Chain — for stock trading in Europe. Tenev said Robinhood's main focus in the US market would be to tokenize alternative assets that were 'previously inaccessible.' 'Private markets and related real-world assets are opportunities that don't exist up until now,' and 'we're working with regulators to make that possible.' Tenev was referring to everything from private shares and venture capital funds to real estate that has typically been off-limits to retail investors due to regulatory and liquidity barriers. It comes almost two months after Robinhood's $200 million acquisition of crypto exchange Bitstamp, which is set to play a pivotal role in the company's tokenization strategy. Robinhood's tokenization offerings have raised legal concerns Tenev said he has seen strong interest from developers wanting to tokenize company assets on Robinhood since unveiling the tokenization strategy in Cannes, France, late last month: 'Since our event, we've just got lots and lots of calls from developers that either want to tokenize the shares of their own companies or otherwise jump on the tokenization of real-world assets revolution and partner with us.' Robinhood has already issued private equity tokens in Europe that resemble OpenAI and SpaceX shares. However, the tokenization offerings recently sparked a legal inquiry in Lithuania, while OpenAI warned that Robinhood's OpenAI token doesn't resemble actual equity in the company. Robinhood more equipped for tokenization, CEO argues Asked how Robinhood's tokenization platform would outscale public blockchains, Tenev pointed to the company's 25 million US users and the $1 trillion in assets that they already hold under custody. '[That] going to be very, very difficult for others to replicate,' Tenev said, noting that none of Robinhood's competitors or blockchain-native firms are 'really going after this specific opportunity.' 'There's a lot of chains out there that want to build the best chain for degen traders, but I think the opportunity for real-world assets and the unique characteristics that they have […] I don't think anyone else is tackling as directly.' While Tenev's comments were directed at layer 2s, Ethereum continues to dominate the crypto tokenization market, securing nearly $7 billion worth of real-world assets, data shows. Ethereum layer 2 ZKsync Era comes in second with $2.4 billion, accounting for a near 19% market share. Source:
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Robinhood outgrows meme frenzy era as retail trading matures
By Manya Saini and Niket Nishant (Reuters) -Robinhood's earnings highlight how the app once at the center of the meme-stock mania has evolved into a broader platform to keep retail investors engaged even during market turbulence. The trading platform reported a surge in volumes across equities, options and cryptocurrencies in its second quarter, with momentum continuing in July despite market jitters over tariffs and high interest rates. That marks a sharp contrast from 2022, when Robinhood's business was closely tethered to retail stock buying. After the Federal Reserve kicked off its rate-hiking cycle in March, the firm's trading revenue slumped by nearly half from a year earlier, as many small investors moved to the sidelines. "In 2021, when we went public, it felt to me like we were much more fragile than today," Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev said on the earnings call on Wednesday. "But now the road map, if you look at things that we expect to deliver in the short-term, medium-term and long-term, is pretty packed," he added, referring to new products such as tokenization and perpetual futures. For the second-quarter, Robinhood reported transaction-based revenue of $539 million, up 65% from a year earlier. Options soared 46% and equities climbed 65%. Crypto revenue nearly doubled. The company has also deepened its crypto presence with a $200 million acquisition of Bitstamp in June, boosting revenue. "Retail engagement remains strong on the platform," analysts at Piper Sandler wrote in a note, adding that the variety of products was supporting the engagement, with equity and options trading volumes tracking at record levels in July, while crypto volumes are near a six-month high. MEME-STOCK FRENZY Earlier this month, a wave of meme-stock mania sent shares of several highly shorted companies, such as donut chain Krispy Kreme, retailer Kohl's and action camera maker GoPro, soaring on retail purchases but without any clear catalyst. The moves echoed the 2021 retail trading frenzy, when individual investors used Robinhood to buy shares of video game retailer GameStop, squeezing hedge funds that had taken short positions against the stock. While there have been some instances of elevated volumes this year, Robinhood CFO Jason Warnick said that the platform enjoys steady engagement even during quieter periods. "Some months will be higher than others. But we feel really good about the acquisition of new customers and the high retention rate," he added. CRYPTO BOOST Crypto trading has soared since the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president for a second term. Volumes have declined from a burst after the election, but analysts see the crypto market remaining sharply above pre-election levels. "We believe the Bitstamp acquisition solidifies Robinhood's crypto roadmap and increases crypto's future contribution to Robinhood's overall earnings, which has most frequently trended to about 10%-20% of revenue," analysts at J.P. Morgan said. Robinhood shares recently touched record highs and the company now has a market capitalization close to $94 billion. Wall Street's average rating on the stock is "buy", with at least seven brokerages raising their price targets after the market-beating earnings report.
Bloomberg
14 hours ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Robinhood Wants to Serve More Than Just Retail Customers, CEO Tenev Says
Robinhood Markets Inc. wants to go global and serve more than just retail customers, says CEO Vlad Tenev. Second-quarter earnings beat estimates and the company is now worth more than Intel. Tenev talks about that and expansion plans on "Bloomberg Open Interest." (Source: Bloomberg)
Reuters
14 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
Robinhood outgrows meme frenzy era as retail trading matures
July 31 (Reuters) - Robinhood's (HOOD.O), opens new tab earnings highlight how the app once at the center of the meme-stock mania has evolved into a broader platform to keep retail investors engaged even during market turbulence. The trading platform reported a surge in volumes across equities, options and cryptocurrencies in its second quarter, with momentum continuing in July despite market jitters over tariffs and high interest rates. That marks a sharp contrast from 2022, when Robinhood's business was closely tethered to retail stock buying. After the Federal Reserve kicked off its rate-hiking cycle in March, the firm's trading revenue slumped by nearly half from a year earlier, as many small investors moved to the sidelines. "In 2021, when we went public, it felt to me like we were much more fragile than today," Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev said on the earnings call on Wednesday. "But now the road map, if you look at things that we expect to deliver in the short-term, medium-term and long-term, is pretty packed," he added, referring to new products such as tokenization and perpetual futures. For the second-quarter, Robinhood reported transaction-based revenue of $539 million, up 65% from a year earlier. Options soared 46% and equities climbed 65%. Crypto revenue nearly doubled. The company has also deepened its crypto presence with a $200 million acquisition of Bitstamp in June, boosting revenue. "Retail engagement remains strong on the platform," analysts at Piper Sandler wrote in a note, adding that the variety of products was supporting the engagement, with equity and options trading volumes tracking at record levels in July, while crypto volumes are near a six-month high. Earlier this month, a wave of meme-stock mania sent shares of several highly shorted companies, such as donut chain Krispy Kreme (DNUT.O), opens new tab, retailer Kohl's (KSS.N), opens new tab and action camera maker GoPro (GPRO.O), opens new tab, soaring on retail purchases but without any clear catalyst. The moves echoed the 2021 retail trading frenzy, when individual investors used Robinhood to buy shares of video game retailer GameStop (GME.N), opens new tab, squeezing hedge funds that had taken short positions against the stock. While there have been some instances of elevated volumes this year, Robinhood CFO Jason Warnick said that the platform enjoys steady engagement even during quieter periods. "Some months will be higher than others. But we feel really good about the acquisition of new customers and the high retention rate," he added. Crypto trading has soared since the election of Donald Trump as U.S. president for a second term. Volumes have declined from a burst after the election, but analysts see the crypto market remaining sharply above pre-election levels. "We believe the Bitstamp acquisition solidifies Robinhood's crypto roadmap and increases crypto's future contribution to Robinhood's overall earnings, which has most frequently trended to about 10%-20% of revenue," analysts at J.P. Morgan said. Robinhood shares recently touched record highs and the company now has a market capitalization close to $94 billion. Wall Street's average rating on the stock is "buy", with at least seven brokerages raising their price targets after the market-beating earnings report.
