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Users in select states can now trade Bitcoin and Ethereum
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Robinhood competing with fellow fintech startup Coinbase
More than 4 million people have signed up to open accounts at Robinhood Markets Inc. as the brokerage app begins offering commission-free trading of Bitcoin and Ethereum today for the first time.
The Palo Alto, California-based firm, which first gained traction by offering a free stock-trading app, said last month that it was getting into digital assets. Trading in the two largest cryptocurrencies is available to users in California, Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana and New Hampshire. The startup aims offer the service in most U.S. states by midyear.
Read more: Robinhood Thinks Bitcoin Belongs in Your Retirement Plan
Robinhood had signed up 2 million users as of April, a figure it saw jump to 3 million in November and skyrocket since saying it would offer crypto trading.
This gives another financial technology startup and popular digital currency exchange, Coinbase Inc., a new competitor. It’s unclear how many of these new accounts either moved from Coinbase or have accounts at both startups, but each firm is targeting a similar demographic. According to a recent survey, more than half of Bitcoin holders are between the ages of 18 and 34. Robinhood said its average customer is 30. When comparing the user bases, Coinbase had 13 million users as of late last year.
Anyone that uses the Robinhood platform to buy Bitcoin or Ethereum today comes into a market that has lost roughly half of its value over the past couple of months. After nearly touching $20,000 in December, Bitcoin recently dropped below $10,000.
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