Just-In: Robinhood’s Crypto Revenue Slumps 39%, Cautious Traders To Blame?

Trading app Robinhood said on Thursday revenue from its crypto trading unit slumped 39% in the first quarter, as volatile markets kept traders at bay.

Revenue from the app’s crypto division came in at $54 for the three months to March 31, it said in a press release. The firm’s overall revenue also dropped 43% to $299, indicating that tight trading conditions extended beyond crypto markets.

The first quarter of 2022 was marked by wild market swings, as fears of rising inflation, a hawkish Federal Reserve and the Russia-Ukraine war ravaged markets. Total crypto market capitalization is down $400 billion from the beginning of the year.

Still, Robinhood said it remains committed to its expansion plans, and also intends to add support for more cryptocurrencies this year.

Robinhood leans further into crypto

Despite the weak trading conditions, Robinhood is pushing further into crypto to diversify its trading business. It recently rolled out its crypto wallet to over 2 million users, and added popular memecoin Shiba Inu to its roster of supported tokens.

The app also recently flagged plans to expand across Europe, and bough UK crypto platform Ziglu to that end.

But the firm’s push into crypto move also comes as a retail trading rally, which drove high user growth for the app, has largely wound down.

For instance, the firm’s monthly active users sank 10% from last year to 15.9 million. More alarming was a 62% slump in its average revenues per users, indicating that even the users it retained were interacting less with the app.

Crypto trading a crowded arena

But Robinhood’s entry into crypto faces stiff competition. Established players such as FTX, Binance and Coinbase already have a big presence in the United States, and also offer far more crypto-related features, such as staking and DeFi lending.

While crypto makes up nearly a fourth of the app’s revenue, Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev said the division is not a revenue driver, but a long-term attractor of more customers to its platform.