Crypto Market Boosted by Coinbase & Robinhood Innovations
Key Developments
Both Coinbase and Robinhood saw their shares reach new highs following significant announcements linking their platforms more closely to the broader cryptocurrency ecosystem.
Robinhood Milestones
Robinhood shares surged 11.25% to $92.37 on Monday, hitting an all-time high. This follows a 148% year-to-date rally from the start of the year. The catalyst was the introduction of tokenized stock trading for European users via Ethereum’s Arbitrum layer-2 network. The company aims to eventually deploy this service on its own blockchain.
Moreover, Robinhood confirmed eligibility for staking Ethereum and Solana for European users, bringing its European app into an integrated “blockchain-powered” experience alongside crypto trading and perpetual futures. This comes after regulatory guidance suggesting staking may not violate securities laws.
With a Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) license secured, Robinhood can now serve customers across over 27 regions. Crypto has grown significantly, contributing $252 million in revenue in the second quarter alone, a 100% increase year-over-year.
Analysts remain positive, with upgrades to price targets, though some, like Compass Point’s Ed Engel, have noted potential future issues such as higher margin fees from tokenization.
Competitive Landscape
Robinhood’s moves appear increasingly aligned with competitive U.S. exchanges. Coinbase, for instance, introduced its own Ethereum scaling network, Base, while referring to CEO Vlad Tenev trading tokenized OpenAI stock on Arbitrum during a keynote.
Context
The announcements further embed established financial platforms into the decentralized finance (DeFi) space, extending tokenization, blockchain technology, and staking capabilities beyond cryptocurrencies themselves, signaling growing convergence between traditional and crypto financial services.