Robinhood has answered SEC's crypto warning

Robinhood has answered SEC's crypto warning
The retail fintech's CEO says it has filed a "high-quality" response to the regulator's query as it beat earnings expectations.
AUG 08, 2024

Robinhood Markets Inc. is continuing to engage with the US Securities and Exchange Commission after receiving a warning from the financial regulator in May, according to Chief Executive Officer Vlad Tenev, foreshadowing an enforcement action.

The retail trading platform has submitted a response to what is known as an SEC Wells notice related to the firm’s cryptocurrency business, Tenev said Thursday in an interview on Bloomberg Television. 

“We’ve spent a lot of time making sure that the response is as high-quality as possible,” he said, adding that he had no further updates to share.

Since the pandemic-era retail trading mania that engulfed Robinhood, the firm has diversified its business, expanding into retirement products and credit cards as well as crypto ventures outside of the US. It is still best known as a popular and accessible trading platform.

Robinhood competitors including Charles Schwab Corp. and Fidelity Investments dealt with outages amid a global stock-market selloff on Monday. Tenev said the firm’s technology is strong, and they didn’t have issues “of a significant nature when the competitors were down.”

“Now, when we see high volumes, we’re ready for it,” he said. “Customers tend to be buying the dip–there are more buyers than sellers, which we think is a really good sign for the health of the retail market.”

The firm, known for its varied options that include 24-hour trading, did face some disruption after its execution venue Blue Ocean ATS suspended overnight trading, according to a Robinhood statement on Monday. Tenev said Blue Ocean wasn’t able to handle the scale and the infrastructure “basically fell over.”

“We look to make sure they enable it for all of their customers and all of our customers as soon as possible,” he said. 

Menlo Park, Calif.-based Robinhood reported second-quarter earnings on Wednesday that beat analysts’ expectations, with net revenue of $682 million for the period. 

Robinhood rose 2.2% to $17.50 at 11:32 a.m. in New York on Thursday, giving the company a market value of about $15.5 billion. 

Latest News

Advisor moves: Atlas tops $1B as Wells Fargo, UBS add bank veterans
Advisor moves: Atlas tops $1B as Wells Fargo, UBS add bank veterans

Wells Fargo adds two bank-channel recruits, UBS lands a JPMorgan Chase veteran, and a multi-family office lifts Atlas past $1B

Advisor mom’s son used her password to log into clients’ accounts, sell deal with conflicts, according to Washington state
Advisor mom’s son used her password to log into clients’ accounts, sell deal with conflicts, according to Washington state

“The state comes down on you in years when you make 40% returns for clients,” said Bill Swayne, the advisor and son of Candace Swayne.

Osaic in talks with Anthropic as AI reshapes advisor workforce
Osaic in talks with Anthropic as AI reshapes advisor workforce

The Independent broker-dealer giant has had “active conversations” with the Claude maker, which is days away from its expected IPO

The retirement milestone advisors aren't tracking
The retirement milestone advisors aren't tracking

For Gen X clients entering life after work, answering the financial question isn't enough to solve the entire retirement equation.

Wealthtech firms target stock pay, pensions and heirs for advisors
Wealthtech firms target stock pay, pensions and heirs for advisors

Tools from Grantd, Income Lab and Healthspan Wealth aim to keep RIAs involved in clients’ biggest money decisions

SPONSORED Best Practices for Engaging Women Around Alternatives

Growing wealth, evolving priorities, and untapped opportunities are reshaping how women approach long-term investing.

SPONSORED Built on insurance experience to deliver on long-term promises

Knighthead Life entered the market with a competitive MYGA. A strong launch earned advisor confidence and paved the way for FIAs.