Robinhood, an online brokerage, announced today that the firm is planning to allow customers to deposit and withdraw through major cryptocurrencies including Dogecoin (DOGE). In January, the broker disabled some of the features on its app amid significant volatility sparked by Reddit frenzy.
According to the official announcement, Robinhood has no investment in cryptocurrency assets, and the firm is not planning to use the digital assets of clients for its own benefit. Also, Robinhood mentioned that due to security reasons, the company will not confirm which crypto addresses belong to Robinhood.
“So much interest in crypto, to be crystal clear, we fully intend to provide the ability to deposit and withdraw cryptocurrencies, including Dogecoin (DOGE). Robinhood Crypto does not currently invest in cryptocurrency or use any customer cryptocurrency for our own benefit. Just like other crypto platforms, for operational security reasons and to protect customer privacy, we will not confirm which addresses do or do not belong to us,” Robinhood mentioned on Twitter.
The Committee on Financial Services of the United States House of Representatives called Vladimir Tenev, the CEO of Robinhood along with Steve Huffman, CEO and Co-founder of Reddit to testify on 18 Feb, following the extreme market volatility in stocks and cryptocurrencies triggered by retail traders on Reddit.
Reddit Frenzy
In January 2021, two major Reddit groups, r/WallStreetBets, and r/SatoshiStreetBets triggered a massive rally in stocks and cryptocurrencies. AMC and GME stocks skyrocketed after a massive demand from retail investors. The Reddit frenzy reached the crypto market with a massive rally in Dogecoin and XRP. The price of Dogecoin sparked nearly 900% within 24 hours. Major financial brokers including Robinhood limited some features on their platforms related to the trading of selected stocks and cryptocurrencies, including GME, AMC and Dogecoin.
In the recent announcement, Robinhood cleared the rumors about the company’s cryptocurrency wallets. “Cryptocurrencies purchased and owned by our customers are held in our wallets for the benefit of our customers. Additionally, we only receive coins when our customer’s trades have already settled,” the firm mentioned in a tweet.
(Photo: Robinhood)
