If established cryptocurrency exchanges didn’t take notice when commission-free trading app Robinhood started offering free cryptocurrency trading earlier in the year, they are likely to now.
According to a job advert which appeared on the website of
recruitment consultants, Greenhouse, Robinhood is reportedly working on a
cryptocurrency wallet of its own. This would allow Robinhood’s
customers to move their crypto assets from other wallets and brokerages
into the platform without having to sell them first.
At the moment for customers of the commission-free investing app to
transfer their cryptocurrencies in and out of Robinhood they are
required to sell them, move the money to the desired platform and then
purchase the cryptocurrencies of their choice.
New Features, New Threats to Establishment
According to the job ad which was first spotted by Business Insider the commission-free
investing app is seeking a ‘Crypto Engineer’ who will be responsible
for, among other things, adding new features to the company’s crypto
product.
“As a Crypto Engineer you’ll: Build out new functionality for our
crypto product, such as adding new currencies or providing wallet
functionality…” reads the job advertisement.
To be considered applicants are required to possess at least one year
of experience in crypto or blockchain development as well as prior
experience with distributed services.
According to a spokesperson for Robinhood which currently enjoys a
valuation of $5.6 billion customers of the firm have been constantly
asking for a way of moving cryptocurrencies into the app from other
services. Besides the ability to move cryptocurrencies around, having
its own cryptocurrency wallet could also provide customers of Robinhood with a more secure way of storing their digital assets.
From Traditional Investments to Crypto
While it was founded five years ago Robinhood initially focused on
investors interested in U.S. stocks, options and exchange-traded funds.
It is only at the beginning of this year that commission-free
cryptocurrency trading was introduced. Initially, Robinhood Crypto was rolled out to New Hampshire, Montana, Missouri, Massachusetts and California.
Later the list was expanded to include Arizona, Colorado, Florida,
Indiana, Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Utah,
Virginia, Wisconsin and Texas, with the latter being the most recent
addition.
