Robinhood, a financial services company specializing in stock trading, exchange-traded funds and cryptocurrencies, has announced its next attempt to enter the rapidly growing crypto and NFT industries.
The company plans to launch a customer-focused crypto wallet that gives users complete control over digital assets like cryptocurrencies or NFTs, as well as the ability to connect them to available marketplaces.
Robinhood Goes NFT!
Basically, the new digital wallet has the same functions as an established wallet such as Coinbase or MetaMask for storing, trading and exchanging assets.
This move, in particular, is Robinhood’s attempt to adapt to the recent changes and rapid development of the digital industry. It is also considered a turning point after the previous wallet product created by the team.
Speculation about Robinhood’s virtual wallet intensified towards the end of September last year. However, that wallet was not a 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 build it to assist users with cryptocurrency deposits and withdrawals.
More options for users
According to the company, the crypto wallet will include 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 major step forward for Robinhood in response to requests from merchants for wallet products that support crypto deposits and withdrawals.
After months of planning, the beta launch went live in January 2022. Initially, only 1,000 customers could withdraw cryptocurrency from their accounts.
Robinhood Crypto Managing Director Christine Brown revealed that there are 1.6 million users on the crypto wallet waiting list. Before releasing the final version, the business relies on beta testers to fine-tune the essential functions of the wallet.
During the bitcoin conference in Miami, Florida in March, the business announced the launch of a new crypto wallet for over two million consumers.
Making NFTs Ease of Use
The massive expansion of wallet capacity with the upcoming support for NFTs is expected to be a unique selling point for Robinhood.
Robinhood co-founder and CEO Vlad Tenev said in a statement:
“At Robinhood, we believe that crypto is more than just an asset class… our Web3 wallet will make it easy for everyone to hold their keys and experience all the opportunities that an open financial system offers.”
Robinhood has no intention of charging users any gas charges. However, it is important to note that the company will generate funds from third party brokers in order to stick to this plan.
Despite the founder’s repeated denials, many experts see this approach as selling user information to third parties.
The company’s Robinhood app was first offered to users on the iOS platform via the AppStore in late 2014, 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 located anywhere, except in four US states, to use its crypto facilities.
The company’s number of users set new records since the start of the pandemic and social distancing. Robinhood’s coverage was expanding, and the difficult period provided an opportunity for him to grow stronger.
Among online trading apps, the number of users and transactions grows the fastest.
Scandals easily followed rapid development. The famous GameStop and WallStreetBets is one of the most scandalous events in 2021.
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 blinded by something more powerful.
The development of Web3 Wallet could be a game changer in its effort to capture the NFT wave and accelerate crypto growth momentum, helping the company regain its reputation.
However, with the current competition with more expertise and user confidence, Robinhood is a challenger in the game.