Robinhood Markets Inc said that they are planning to begin testing the cryptocurrency wallets next month. This is with a broader rollout in early 2022. Users will be allowed to move supported digital currencies in and out of their brokerage accounts. The Menlo Park-based retail brokerage currently allows buying, selling and holding of certain cryptocurrencies. Customers of Robinhood who were benefited from a boom in retail trading during the pandemic, have long asked for crypto wallets.
This would allow them to participate more broadly in blockchain-based ecosystems. In an interview Aparna Chennapragada, Robinhood’s chief product officer, said that this is the natural step for them when they think about democratizing finance for all. This is by being able to have a lot more people from a lot of different contexts participate in this emerging market. The company plans to survey its current crypto-trading customers. 60% of the app’s 21.3 million active users makes up this.
Robinhood customers can also join a wait list for future access to the wallets. She said that this is a part of a phased rollout. Security features like identity verification, multi-factor authentication, and email and phone verification are all included in this wallet. Chennapragada said that one of the things they have been trying to do is make sure that this is built safely and securely. The reason for developing a new feature is this. Robinhood said that it would maintain 0% commissions for crypto trades, after the wallets are launched.
