Robinhood Aims to Attract Experienced Investors with Bitcoin Futures and Launch of New Desktop Interface

Delving into the futures marketplace, Robinhood is broadening its portfolio offerings by including Bitcoin and Ethereum along with traditional assets like oil and the S&P 500 index, aiming to draw in more expert traders into its fold.

On Wednesday, a representative from Robinhood revealed to Decrypt that the company plans to introduce its futures options on its trading app within the “forthcoming months.”

These new options will encompass various futures contracts, including those for Bitcoin, micro Bitcoin futures, Bitcoin Friday futures, Ethereum, and micro Ethereum futures, elaborated the spokesperson.

Micro futures represent smaller-sized contracts that are specifically designed to cater to the needs of retail traders and individuals with lesser trading volume.

At the inaugural HOOD Summit, a customer conference, Robinhood announced the launch of its new desktop application ‘Robinhood Legend’ that targets active traders by providing advanced tools and instantaneous market data, including the capability of executing futures and index options trades right from the app.

With an eye on the derivatives market, Robinhood is sharpening its edge to rival established competitors like Charles Schwab and E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley, who are already providing crypto futures to their clients.

This strategic move by Robinhood occurs amidst a surging cryptocurrency market, with Bitcoin’s value nearing its peak at around $73,700.

“Robinhood provides one of the most affordable and user-friendly mobile interfaces in the industry. There’s simply no better platform to trade futures on,” declared JB Mackenzie, VP and GM of Futures and International at Robinhood.

Gold subscribers at Robinhood will enjoy the privilege of trading futures at a bargain price of just $0.50 per contract. In contrast, non-Gold members will have a slightly higher fee of $0.75 per contract, still coming in below what traditional brokerages typically charge.

This development is anticipated to generate increased interest among cryptocurrency enthusiasts who desire to gain more advanced and diversified access to assets like Bitcoin.

The advanced ‘Robinhood Legend’ platform also offers sophisticated charting capabilities, customizable interfaces, and live data updates.

Steve Quirk, the chief brokerage officer at Robinhood, outlined frustrations with existing systems, motivating the company to reimagine a more modern, intuitively designed trading platform that alleviates the need to switch between different apps and charts, and thus saving precious time.

As Robinhood rolls out its offerings, the Robinhood Legend platform will continue to incorporate support for futures and index options trading throughout 2024.