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Retail users have flocked to cryptocurrencies in 2021, with Robinhood reporting an increase in new monthly crypto traders of 15 times last year's average.
Retail-focused trading app Robinhood has revealed that the number of new monthly customers buying from its crypto platform this year is 15 times the 2020 average.
According to the company’s new report “Crypto Goes Mainstream,” more than 3 million new users purchased from Robinhood Crypto in January, with more than 2.9 million new users having bought crypto during February so far. As such, Robinhood Crypto’s user base has expanded by 6 million in 2021 so far.
By contrast, the platform revealed the largest number of new users transacting on Robinhood Crypto last year was 401,000 in July 2020 — when trade activity surged in the lead-up to Bitcoin’s third block reward halving.
The average number of monthly new crypto traders on Robinhood was roughly 200,000 last year. The report also notes an average transaction size of roughly $500 on the platform, a 100% increase when compared with the first three quarters of 2020. The report concluded:
“The numbers are clear: 2021 has started with a crypto bang.”
Robinhood is looking to further expand its crypto services, revealing in a Tweet last week plans to offer deposits and withdrawals for crypto assets.
This year has been an explosive one for Robinhood, with the platform finding itself at the center of controversy after suspending trade in both Dogecoin (DOGE) and stocks that were being pumped by the now infamous Reddit group r/WallStreetBets during January.
Last week’s congressional hearings on the incident saw representatives of the United States House Financial Services Committee scrutinize Robinhood’s business model, with the platform’s move to suspend trading in GameStop shares apparently prompted by the platform falling short of its collateral requirements by $3 billion amid the orchestrated pump.
However, Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev has blamed its collateralization issues with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission regulations mandating a two-day settlement period after trades are executed.
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