Robinhood, a financial service company specializing in stock trading, exchange-traded funds and cryptocurrency, announced its next effort to enter in the fast-growing crypto and NFT industries.
The company plans to launch a customer-centric crypto wallet that offers users complete control over their digital assets like cryptocurrencies or NFTs as well as the ability to connect them to available marketplaces.
Robinhood Goes NFTs!
Basically, the new digital wallet possesses similar functionalities as established wallets such as Coinbase or MetaMask including storing, trading, and exchanging assets.
The move, in particular, is Robinhood’s efforts to adapt to the recent transformations and rapid growth of the digitalized industry. It is also considered a twist following the previous wallet product made by the team.
The speculation about Robinhood’s virtual wallet warmed up by the end of September last year. That wallet, however, was not the Web3 wallet.
Previously, Robinhood users could only buy crypto with US dollars and could not trade digital assets on the Robinhood app. The team then intended to create it in order to assist users with cryptocurrency deposits and withdrawals.
More Options for Users
According to the company, the crypto wallet will contain security features such as identity verification, multi-factor authentication, email and phone verification to protect the funds in the wallet from hackers and other threats.
The introduction marked a huge step forward for Robinhood in response to traders’ requests for wallet products that support crypto deposits and withdrawals.
After months of planning, the beta launch went live in January 2022. Initially, just 1,000 customers could withdraw cryptocurrency from their accounts.
Christine Brown, Managing Director of Robinhood Crypto, disclosed that there are 1.6 million consumers on the crypto wallet waiting list. Before releasing the final version, the business relies on beta testers to fine-tune the wallet’s essential functions.
During the Bitcoin conference in Miami, Florida in March, the business announced the launch of the new crypto wallet to over two million consumers.
Making NFTs Easy to Use
The broad expansion of the wallet’s capability with coming support for NFT is expected to be a unique selling point for Robinhood.
Vlad Tenev, co-founder and CEO of Robinhood said in a statement:
“At Robinhood, we believe that crypto is more than just an asset class…Our web3 wallet will make it easier for everyone to hold their own keys and experience all the opportunities that the open financial system has to offer.”
Robinhood has no intention to charge any gas fee from users. It is important to note, however, that the company will generate money from third-party brokers in order to stick to this plan.
Many experts perceive this approach as selling user information to third parties, despite the founder’s repeated denials.
The company’s Robinhood app was first introduced to users in late 2014 on the iOS platform via the AppStore before officially launching in March 2015.
Robinhood Markets became the fastest growing brokerage firm. and their app was the first financial software in history to win an Apple Design Award. Robinhood first launched Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) trading services for customers in the US state in 2018.
Since then, the company has expanded its altcoin support and now allows traders based anywhere, except four US states, to access its crypto features.
The company’s number of users hit new records since the pandemic and the start of social distancing. Robinhood’s coverage was expanding, and the difficult period provided an opportunity for them to grow stronger.
In online trading apps, the number of users and transactions grows the fastest.
Scandals easily followed rapid development. The famous GameStop and WallStreetBets in 2021 is one of the most scandalous events.
The company has been criticized for its recent conduct. The community began to wonder whether the company was still focused on its initial objectives or was being blinded by something more powerful.
The development of Web3 wallet in an attempt to catch the NFT wave and accelerate crypto growth speed could be a game changer that supports the company in regaining its reputation.
However, with current competition with more expertise and user trust, Robinhood is a challenger in the game.
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