According to Fortune, Robinhood has launched crypto staking for Ethereum and Solana, making it available first to customers in New York with plans for a national rollout. Johann Kerbrat, the SVP of Robinhood Crypto, highlighted the significance of launching in New York’s tough regulatory environment. The move follows a year of crypto expansion, including a $200 million acquisition of the Bitstamp exchange in June. Crypto transactions already accounted for over 21% of Robinhood’s revenue as of last month’s earnings. The company is also pushing globally, adding perpetual futures in Europe and entering Indonesia by acquiring a local brokerage. This expansion comes as BlackRock also filed for a staking Ethereum ETF, signaling wider institutional interest.
Strategy and Regulatory Gamble
Here’s the thing: Robinhood isn’t just adding a feature. They’re making a massive, calculated bet on a specific regulatory future. Remember, Kraken had to pay a $30 million settlement to the SEC over its staking program just last year. That scared a lot of people off. But Robinhood’s leadership, and analysts like CFRA’s Caydee Blankenship, are betting that the current administration provides “regulatory clarity” that makes this safe. They’re essentially playing regulatory chess, positioning themselves as the easy, compliant on-ramp for everyday users who were too nervous to stake in their own wallets. It’s a classic Robinhood move—democratizing a complex financial activity. But the risk is real. If the regulatory winds shift again, this whole bet could backfire spectacularly.
The Global Ambition
And don’t miss the global play. Europe gets perpetual futures (a risky, leveraged product), and Indonesia gets a full-on acquisition. This isn’t a hobby. They’re building a full-spectrum crypto platform to go head-to-head with Coinbase, Binance, and Kraken on a worldwide scale. The Bitstamp buy wasn’t just for fun—it gave them instant credibility and an established user base outside the U.S. So, what’s the endgame? It looks like Robinhood wants to be the one-stop-shop for the *next generation* of financial infrastructure, as they put it. They’re betting that crypto, staking, and tokenization aren’t niche. They’re the future of the platform. Basically, they’re trying to make sure they’re not just a stock trading app that also does crypto, but a fundamental crypto player that also does stocks.
Why This Matters Now
Timing is everything. They’re launching this as big, traditional finance finally pokes its head in. BlackRock filing for a staking ETF is a huge signal. It tells the market that the big boys think staking is here to stay and, more importantly, that it can be packaged into a regulated product. Robinhood is trying to ride that wave of legitimacy. They’re saying, “Look, if BlackRock can do it, so can we—and we’ll give you direct access, not just through a fund.” It’s a clever bit of positioning. They get to be the rebellious democratizer while simultaneously hugging the regulatory establishment. Will it work? That depends entirely on whether the SEC agrees with their reading of the “regulatory clarity.” It’s a high-stakes game, but one that could finally make Robinhood’s crypto division its main engine.
