Robinhood Markets Inc

Robinhood Markets stock rose 7% to $110.97 and Webull climbed 4% to $8.86 after Webull CEO Anthony Denier reported a nearly 300% increase in retail buy orders for Bitcoin and Ethereum since the June 4 repeal of the pattern day trader rule. Denier told CNBC that the old $25,000 minimum equity requirement had locked out most Webull users, whose average account holds about $5,500, and that the repeal helped lift Webull's quarterly revenue from $160 million in Q1 to nearly $200 million. Webull's Q2 2026 revenue of $198.83 million beat the $182.83 million consensus, with trading-related revenue up 66% year over year to $147.7 million and daily average revenue trades hitting a record 1.6 million. The ARK Blockchain & Fintech Innovation ETF gained 2% to $46.45 while the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF added just 0.6% to $44.92, underscoring that brokers capture a trading-volume premium that pure spot Bitcoin funds do not. Bitcoin itself was up only 0.4% over the past 24 hours at $79,377.30, while Ethereum slipped 0.5% to $2,475.16.

Mizuho analyst Dan Dolev says three factors support a sustained crypto rally and names Robinhood, eToro, and Bitgo as the best-positioned stocks. He notes the current rally runs on less leverage than previous ones, with coin-denominated open interest at a one-month low, indicating spot and ETF demand rather than leveraged longs. Retail trading volumes remain depressed but could provide another leg higher if ETF-led accumulation pulls activity back onto exchanges. Spot Bitcoin ETFs drew roughly $1.9 billion over the past week, the strongest weekly inflow since October 2025, led by IBIT. Dolev calls Robinhood the cleanest way to express the inflection, citing its record 40% spot retail share in the second quarter of 2026 and highest operating leverage among peers, while eToro is a contrarian value play trading near 52-week lows at under 10 times earnings despite 18% growth in funded accounts to 4.28 million, and Bitgo is the infrastructure and custody winner benefiting from institutional accumulation through ETFs.

The SEC proposed its first permanent digital-asset rule on Aug. 18, exempting token sales of up to $5 million over four years from registration under the Securities Act of 1933, with a similar exemption for sales up to $75 million a year if issuers provide audited financial statements and ongoing reporting. The proposal came a day before President Donald Trump hosted a White House summit with CEOs of Coinbase Global, Ripple, and Robinhood Markets, following the Senate's failure to vote on the Clarity Act before leaving town on Aug. 8. White House crypto advisor Patrick Witt said regulators would use emergency mechanisms if Congress didn't act, and SEC Chairman Paul Atkins called legislation indispensable for durable rules. The next key date is Sept. 15, when a Senate procedural vote on the Clarity Act needs 60 votes, meaning six Democrats must cross party lines.

President Donald Trump repeated his commitment to secure U.S. leadership in cryptocurrency and emerging technologies at a White House summit, drawing enthusiastic reactions from industry executives and top officials. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said the administration and industry are ready to get the CLARITY Act across the finish line, noting that CFTC Chairman Michael Selig and SEC Chairman Paul Atkins are aligned on the goal. Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev stated the company's core purpose is enabling broad ownership, while Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse hailed Trump's commitment to innovation and noted that 67 million Americans hold crypto. Binance founder Changpeng Zhao celebrated with the phrase 'We are so back,' and SEC Chair Paul Atkins promised the greatest advances of the technological frontier will be realized in America. Trump said America remains the undisputed leader in Bitcoin and cryptocurrency and urged Congress to pass the CLARITY Act, adding that accumulating Bitcoin is being talked about and he would listen to executives' recommendations.

President Donald Trump reiterated his commitment to preserving U.S. leadership in Bitcoin, cryptocurrency, and prediction markets during a White House cryptocurrency summit on Wednesday. Trump hosted the summit alongside CFTC Chairman Michael Selig and SEC Chairman Paul Atkins, with executives from Coinbase Global Inc., Robinhood Markets Inc., Ripple, and Kalshi in attendance. He urged Congress to pass the CLARITY Act, calling it powerful structured legislation that will keep the U.S. ahead of China. When asked about accumulating Bitcoin, Trump said it has been talked about and he would rely on Paul Atkins and the group for a decision, noting Bitcoin has taken a lot of pressure off the dollar. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott said the legislation has a really good shot of moving forward in September, with a procedural vote scheduled for September 15.

Moderna delivered one of the largest single-session moves for an S&P 500 company, closing 177% higher at $174.38 on Wednesday after reporting positive late-stage data for its personalized cancer vaccine. The stock pulled back over 23% on Thursday before adding more than 10% so far on Friday, leaving it on course for a gain of around 135% over the week. The Phase 3 trial evaluated Moderna's intismeran alongside Merck's Keytruda in advanced skin cancer, and met its primary goal of recurrence-free survival, with a key secondary endpoint on distant metastasis-free survival also met and no new safety signal reported. Crypto-exposed equities rallied hard this week after bitcoin surged on the U.S. Treasury's decision to at least double the size of its long-dated bond buyback operations, alongside supportive comments on the sector from President Donald Trump. The Treasury raised the maximum per-operation size from $2 billion to at least $4 billion for the 10-to-20-year and 20-to-30-year sectors, effective Sept. 9 through Nov. 4. Bitcoin is currently above $77,000, having hit a high of $79,461 earlier in Friday's session. As a result, Strategy has risen 25.9% over the week, with Marathon Digital up 22.5%, Coinbase 23.1% higher, Circle up 16.3%, Galaxy Digital 12.3% higher and Robinhood up 9.7%. The same Treasury announcement also lifted metals producers, with the dollar weakening and precious metal prices moving higher. Agnico Eagle leads the group so far on Friday with an 18.4% gain over the week, followed by Barrick at 15%, Freeport-McMoRan up 14% and Newmont 13.3% higher. The dollar has declined, with spot gold gaining more than 2% on Friday and over 6% in the past week. Estée Lauder jumped more than 16% on Wednesday and is set to finish the week up around 15.9% after fourth-quarter results came in ahead of expectations. Sales rose 6%, beating consensus of 4%, while adjusted earnings of $0.39 per share topped the $0.32 expected. Management pointed to share gains in mainland China and growth across all product categories except hair care, alongside continued progress on cost-cutting through its One ELC initiative and Profit Recovery and Growth Plan. Canaccord analyst Susan Anderson raised her price target for the stock to $90 from $85, maintaining a Hold rating following the release. Walmart is the week's notable loser, sinking 9.2% on Thursday and down a further 0.9% so far on Friday after second-quarter results that beat on the headline numbers but disappointed on the metric that mattered most. Comparable sales at Walmart-only U.S. stores excluding gas grew 2.6%, well short of the 3.67% consensus and the slowest U.S. sales growth in six years. Mizuho analyst David Bellinger described the outcome as a worst-case scenario, calling it a very messy print and one of the biggest misses in years from the retailer.

Several companies made notable premarket moves on Friday. BJ's Wholesale shares ticked slightly higher after the retailer reported second-quarter earnings of $1.36 per share excluding items on revenue of $6.09 billion, beating FactSet estimates of $1.17 per share on $5.97 billion in revenue, and raised its full-year EPS guidance to $4.60 to $4.80 from $4.40 to $4.60. Ross Stores jumped over 8% after posting better-than-expected second-quarter results and issuing third-quarter earnings guidance above estimates. Crypto-related stocks including Robinhood, Coinbase, and Strategy rose at least 4.5% as bitcoin headed for a weekly gain of more than 20%, boosted by the White House hosting crypto leaders and urging Congress to pass the Clarity Act. Broadcom gained over 1% after Bloomberg News reported the semiconductor maker plans to raise over $60 billion in debt to support Anthropic.

Bitcoin surged past $77,000 for the first time since May, supported by falling bond yields and hopes for the cryptocurrency Clarity Act. As of 4:30 p.m. Thailand time, Bitcoin was up more than 7% at $77,700, but still 43% below its October 2025 peak. Ether rose nearly 4.4% to $2,390. The market got an additional boost from the White House holding an emergency meeting with top executives from Coinbase, Kraken, Robinhood, Ripple, and ChainLink ahead of the first meeting of the CFTC's innovation advisory committee on Thursday. President Donald Trump called on Congress to fast-track a fair version of the Clarity Act before the end of this year, saying the bill would help the United States maintain its leadership over China and pave the way for a new wave of innovation. However, Republicans and Democrats remain divided over ethics requirements, which could cause the bill to fail its first procedural vote in the Senate on September 15 and miss the chance to pass this year.

Crypto-linked stocks rallied Friday as Bitcoin extended its climb to levels not seen since late May, after President Trump called on lawmakers to pass clear regulatory rules for digital assets. In U.S. premarket trading, Strategy was up 10.2%, Coinbase rose 6.8%, and Circle Internet Group added 6.4%, while MARA Holdings climbed 5.4%, Galaxy Digital rose 5%, Robinhood Markets gained 4.7%, Hut 8 advanced 2.4%, and Riot Platforms rose 3.7%. Bitcoin jumped 8.9% to $78,135.60, briefly touching an intraday high of $79,600.60, breaking out of the roughly $60,000-to-$70,000 range that held for most of 2026. The rally was also supported by a broader lift in risk appetite after the U.S. Treasury Department said it would double its bond buybacks in an effort to contain rising yields, following a sharp bond selloff that drove the 30-year yield to its highest level since 2007. The advance was set in motion earlier this week when Trump, speaking at a White House summit, urged Congress to advance the Clarity Act, closely watched legislation aimed at establishing a regulatory framework for the U.S. crypto industry, though it remains unclear when, or if, the bill will pass.

Bitcoin climbed to nearly 72,000 US dollars, its highest level since June 1, supported by efforts from the White House and cryptocurrency industry leaders to push the Clarity Act through Congress. Bitcoin rose more than 5% on Thursday, August 20, and gained over 11% over two days after previously trading around 63,000 US dollars. Buying also spread to crypto-related stocks, with Coinbase and Circle up about 6% while Strategy jumped more than 9% in premarket trading. The recovery began on Wednesday after US Treasury yields fell sharply, easing pressure on risk assets and prompting investors to buy cryptocurrencies broadly. The market then got an additional boost from a major short squeeze, with data from CoinGlass showing that short positions in the crypto market were liquidated for about 2.7 billion US dollars the same day. The White House held an emergency meeting with top executives from leading cryptocurrency companies including Coinbase, Kraken, Robinhood, Ripple and ChainLink, where President Donald Trump called on Congress to pass the crypto market structure bill, known as the Clarity Act, in a fair form before the end of this year. Trump said Congress needs to take the next step by passing the Clarity Act in a fair form, arguing that the bill has a strong framework that would help the United States maintain leadership over China and other countries while paving the way for a new wave of innovation and innovators. However, Trump's call to pass the bill in a fair form reflects ongoing disagreements with Democrats, who want stricter ethics provisions to prevent the president and other government officials from personally benefiting from cryptocurrencies, while Republicans oppose provisions they see as overly targeted at certain individuals or excessively restrictive. The market views the Clarity Act as a key factor that could help the crypto market escape the slump that began last autumn. Investors had previously begun to think the bill might not pass by 2026 after the US Senate adjourned in August without a vote, while negotiations remained stalled over ethics provisions and other differences between Republicans and Democrats. If the bill fails to clear key hurdles, including the Senate's first procedural vote on September 15, it could lose its chance to pass this year as other issues compete for lawmakers' attention before the midterm elections. Despite the sharp recovery, Bitcoin still trades about 43% below its October 2025 peak, when the price reached roughly 126,000 US dollars.

Webull and Robinhood Markets each climbed 7% in midday trading Wednesday, driven by a Bitcoin rally and company-specific catalysts. Webull shares rose to $8.49 ahead of its Q2 2026 earnings report after the close, with analysts projecting revenue of $182.83 million, up from $156.94 million a year earlier, and consensus EPS of $0.03. Robinhood advanced to $98.45 as CEO Vlad Tenev pushed U.S. regulators to approve tokenized stocks, arguing tokenization is the best path to modernizing the American financial system. Coinbase surged 11% to $163.32 as Bitcoin traded around $68,500, up 6% over 24 hours, though Coinbase remains down 35% year to date. The ARK Fintech Innovation ETF rose 4% to $44.20, reflecting its exposure to Robinhood and Coinbase, which account for 4.5% and 5.8% of net assets respectively.

Robinhood Markets CEO Vlad Tenev is calling on U.S. regulators to approve tokenized stocks, warning that the country risks ceding next-generation financial infrastructure to overseas competitors. In a social media post, Tenev said the global financial system is in the early stages of a tokenization super cycle that could reshape traditional finance. Robinhood already offers tokenized U.S. stocks in more than 120 countries and has tokenized over 190 U.S. stocks, backed 1:1 by underlying shares but without direct ownership. Tenev argues tokenization enables instant blockchain settlement, lower fees, borderless access, around-the-clock trading, and faster asset transfers. HOOD stock has declined 15% over the past 12 months to $91.53 per share.

Deposits of real-world assets on blockchains more than tripled year over year to $7.4 billion in the second quarter of 2026, according to CoinShares, even as major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum struggle. Tokenized Treasuries, stablecoins, and gold drove most of the growth, reflecting a shift toward safe-haven assets rather than speculative tokens. CoinShares CEO Jean-Marie Mognetti said the divergence is being driven by financial utility, not by market cycles. Robinhood's tokenized stock trades have also accelerated since the brokerage launched its own blockchain, Robinhood Chain, at the beginning of July, with top tokenized stocks GameStop, Nvidia, and SpaceX reaching a combined trading volume of $47 million by the end of July. Asset managers like BlackRock, banks like JPMorgan Chase, payment networks like Mastercard, and online brokerages like Robinhood are upgrading their financial rails to support tokenized assets.

Robinhood Markets reported strong growth in equity and options Daily Average Trades in July 2026, with equity DATs rising 29.7% year over year to 4.8 million and options DATs surging 90.9% to 2.1 million, while crypto DATs fell 45.4% to 0.6 million. Total platform assets climbed 19.1% to $355 billion, supported by $5.6 billion in net deposits, and funded customers totaled 28.5 million, up 6.7% from July 2025. The company has been expanding through acquisitions including WonderFi, Bitstamp, and a controlling stake in MIAX Derivatives Exchange, and has broadened its product suite with futures, short selling, index options, and AI tools. Robinhood shares have gained 27% in the past six months, and the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 earnings implies a year-over-year decline of 1.46%, while the 2027 estimate indicates growth of 16.2%.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is preparing to launch a framework for trading blockchain versions of popular Wall Street-listed stocks, according to a report published on Tuesday. The agency is expected to release its innovation exemption for trading tokenized stocks as early as Friday, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Officials are still working on the proposal, and details may change before its release. SEC Chair Paul Atkins first hinted at the innovation exemption in April, aiming to give qualified firms a regulatory sandbox to issue and trade tokenized securities on-chain under lighter-touch compliance conditions while still operating under SEC oversight. Tokenized equities are currently unavailable for trading in the U.S., though several firms are actively experimenting with the concept, including Robinhood Markets Inc. and Coinbase Global Inc.

The boundary between finance and technology in the United States is rapidly dissolving, and Robinhood is moving forward with development of its own blockchain, Robinhood Chain. The company plans to launch a service in 2025 that tokenizes US stocks and ETFs for trading in Europe, and to deploy its own layer-2 network based on Arbitrum technology to testnet and mainnet in 2026. JPMorgan is connecting deposits, payments, and securities trading to blockchain technology through platforms such as Kinexys, Citigroup is building a digital asset foundation, BNY Mellon is advancing connections between stablecoins and existing custody services, and DTCC is pushing ahead with tokenization of stocks, ETFs, and US Treasuries. Nasdaq is also working to integrate tokenized securities into existing markets, meaning that banking, securities, custody, payments, and clearing, every layer of the financial system, is simultaneously moving on-chain. Behind this is a decline in regulatory uncertainty in the United States, as the SEC, CFTC, OCC, Federal Reserve, and FDIC are all developing frameworks for digital assets, tokenized securities, stablecoins, and the use of blockchain by banks.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong argued in a post on X that crypto has unlocked significant financial access globally, citing stablecoins, decentralized finance applications, and tokenized stocks as key catalysts. Armstrong said stablecoins allow anyone, anywhere to access a low-inflation currency and send it 24/7 for a fraction of a cent, DeFi gives anyone access to credit and unbanked individuals access to financial services, and tokenized stocks would expose four billion unbrokered people to the U.S. stock market. The article notes that investors can gain exposure through stablecoin issuer Circle, which generates most of its revenue from interest on cash and U.S. Treasuries backing its stablecoins, and through Coinbase via a revenue-sharing agreement on USD Coin held on its platform. It also highlights Ethereum and Solana as leading developer-oriented blockchains that could benefit from increased decentralized app development, and Chainlink as the leading oracle network whose LINK token value could rise as its network expands. Robinhood is identified as an early mover in tokenized stocks, having launched Robinhood Chain in early July, with tokenized real-world assets on the chain reaching $70 million by late July according to DefiLlama.

Robinhood's second venture fund debuted on Thursday, giving retail investors access to early-stage startups that have traditionally been out of reach for all but venture capital firms and wealthy investors. The fintech company raised $225.5 million in the initial public offering of Robinhood Ventures Fund II, which will invest in early- and growth-stage private companies. The fund will focus on current and former participants in the Y Combinator startup accelerator program, which has financed over 5,000 companies with a combined valuation of more than $1.3 trillion, including crypto exchange Coinbase, social media platform Reddit and ChatGPT maker OpenAI. RVII listed on the New York Stock Exchange after pricing 8 million shares at $25 apiece, while Robinhood listed its first fund in March, which focuses on late-stage startups. Rich Aberman, RVII portfolio manager, told Reuters that this is one of the more interesting things happening in venture at the moment and hopefully benefits everyday Americans and retail investors who have historically been totally on the outside of Silicon Valley wealth generation.

Robinhood Markets reported record second-quarter revenue of $1.31 billion, up 32%, with EPS of $0.62 beating the $0.41 consensus, yet the stock faded as crypto revenue fell 38% to $100 million. The overlooked story is the prediction-markets business, which generated $156 million in revenue across 13.6 billion traded event contracts, with both revenue and contract volume up more than tenfold year over year and surpassing the entire crypto segment for the first time. Total transaction revenue rose 44% to $776 million, options revenue rose 29% to $342 million, and the company reported 28.4 million funded accounts, a record 4.8 million Gold subscribers, and $22 billion in net deposits. The stock trades near 44 times forward earnings and 17 times sales, with regulatory scrutiny from the CFTC and state gaming boards and competition from Kalshi and Polymarket as key risks.

Robinhood Markets is rolling out zero-fee cryptocurrency trading to eligible UK customers later this week through Bitstamp UK, offering more than 50 digital assets including Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP and Hyperliquid alongside its existing stocks and options platform. The move comes as crypto transaction-based revenues fell 43.2% year over year to $234 million in the first six months of 2026, while crypto notional trading volume rose 30.9% to $106 billion. Robinhood is also introducing an AI-powered tool called Cortex Digests for Crypto to explain price movements, aiming to boost engagement among its 28.4 million funded customers. The UK launch complements the company’s onchain strategy, where its Layer 2 blockchain Robinhood Chain has generated over $18 billion in DEX trading volume since July 1.

Robinhood Markets reported record total revenue of $1.31 billion in the second quarter, up 32% year-over-year, as growth in equities, options, and event contracts offset a 38% drop in crypto revenue. Equities revenue surged 95% and options revenue rose 29%, while event contract revenue reached $156 million, ten times higher than the prior period. Funded customers grew 7% to 28.4 million and investment accounts increased 9% to 29.9 million, with average revenue per user climbing 24% to $187. The company is expanding into banking, credit, subscriptions, and prediction markets to build a diversified financial-services ecosystem and reduce reliance on any single trading category.

Robinhood Markets is launching crypto trading in the UK, allowing eligible customers to trade more than 50 digital assets directly through its app alongside stocks, shares ISAs, options and futures. The service, which begins rolling out this week, will offer zero trading fees with no account maintenance or custody charges, and will be operated through Bitstamp UK Ltd. Robinhood is also introducing Cortex Digests for Crypto, an AI-powered feature that analyzes market data, breaking news and technical indicators to explain factors behind crypto price movements. The launch expands Robinhood's broader crypto infrastructure in the UK, where its Layer 2 network, Robinhood Chain, has recorded more than $18 billion in decentralized exchange trading volume and over $840 million in total value locked since its global launch on July 1. In the second quarter, Robinhood reported $100 million in crypto transaction revenue, down 38% from a year earlier, while overall net revenue climbed 32% year-over-year to $1.31 billion.

WonderFi founder Karia Samaroo says Canada's capital markets and crypto regulatory structure made the company's C$250 million sale to Robinhood the clearest path to global scale, arguing that domestic success had become a ceiling rather than a launchpad. Robinhood completed the acquisition on June 1, paying C$0.36 per WonderFi share, or roughly US$180 million in equity value, gaining an established Canadian crypto operation and an investment dealer license. WonderFi brought about 300,000 funded customers, roughly US$800 million in crypto assets under custody and US$2.6 billion in trailing 12-month trading volume as of April, with platforms including Bitbuy and Coinsquare being migrated to Robinhood's Canadian crypto platform in phases. Samaroo cited Canada's demanding post-Quadriga digital asset regime, fragmented provincial securities oversight, and exits by global exchanges like Binance, OKX, Bybit and Gemini as factors that limited domestic growth. The deal shifts WonderFi from an independent Canadian consolidator into part of a larger U.S. financial platform with international ambitions.

Prediction market trading has overtaken crypto and equity trading as the top revenue generator at Robinhood, with the platform reporting $156 million from prediction markets in the second quarter of 2026, compared to $129 million from equities and $100 million from crypto. The surge reflects a broader shift among crypto speculators away from battered meme coins and toward directional yes/no bets on platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket, which have seen record trading volumes. Much of the activity has been driven by non-crypto events such as the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the upcoming U.S. midterm elections. The author highlights a specific Kalshi contract on Bitcoin reaching above $100,000 in 2026, priced at $0.10 per contract, offering a potential 10x return on a $100 investment versus a 50% return from directly holding Bitcoin if the same price target is met. While acknowledging the high risk of total loss, the author argues that prediction markets provide a more compelling speculative vehicle than animal-themed meme coins like Dogecoin.

Hedge funds are betting on Robinhood over SoFi Technologies, with 84 funds holding Robinhood in the first quarter of 2026 compared to 47 for SoFi, and short interest on Robinhood at just 4.88% of its float versus 14.7% for SoFi. Robinhood’s event contracts business surged to $156 million in revenue in its fiscal second quarter of 2026, up from roughly $10 million a year earlier, now accounting for 20% of transaction revenue and surpassing equities and crypto trading. Bernstein raised its price target on Robinhood from $130 to $160, projecting 64% annual growth in the event contracts segment, while the company reported adjusted earnings of $0.48 per share on $1.31 billion in revenue, beating analyst estimates. Crypto trading revenue fell 38% year over year, and total revenue growth slowed to 32%, raising questions about whether the prediction-market boom is sustainable beyond one-off events like the World Cup and midterm elections. Robinhood trades at 42 times forward earnings, a premium over SoFi’s 27 times, as institutional investors remain cautious on SoFi due to credit risks and loan-market headwinds despite record net interest income.

Hyperliquid's HYPE token has surged 104% year to date and more than 1,500% since its November 2024 launch, but the cryptocurrency now faces significant competitive threats. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission approved the first regulated cryptocurrency perpetual futures for U.S. customers on May 29, enabling platforms like Kalshi, Coinbase Global, and Robinhood Markets to offer these derivatives. Hyperliquid has not yet received U.S. regulatory approval, blocking U.S. investors from its platform. The token is down 32% from its all-time high of $76.85 in mid-June, raising questions about whether its rapid growth can continue.

US online brokerage Robinhood Markets reported its second quarter 2026 results, with event contract revenue reaching 156 million dollars, exceeding crypto's 100 million dollars and equities' 129 million dollars. Total transaction revenue rose 44 percent year-on-year to 776 million dollars, while the number of event contracts traded expanded more than tenfold to 13.6 billion contracts. Through its joint venture Rothera, the company acquired a 90 percent stake in CFTC-registered exchange MIAXdx for approximately 79 million dollars, and began operating its own exchange in June 2026. Meanwhile, the prediction market faces ongoing federal and state regulatory clashes, as the CFTC published a proposed rule and attorneys general from 44 states pushed back over the treatment of sports-related contracts.

Eighty-five percent of the 20 financial companies that reported earnings this week beat earnings-per-share estimates, with 17 surpassing expectations, two missing, and one matching. Twelve of the 20 companies exceeded revenue forecasts, while eight fell short. Notable beats included PayPal, which posted non-GAAP EPS of $1.38 and raised its full-year guidance to around $5.38, Visa with EPS of $3.32 on revenue of $11.6 billion, and Robinhood with GAAP EPS of $0.62. Among the misses, Cincinnati Financial reported EPS of $1.43, missing by $0.39, and S&P Global also fell short on EPS despite revenue slightly ahead of consensus.

Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev believes AI agents could transform cryptocurrency markets by giving retail investors the same computing power as institutional investors. Customers of several brokerages, including Robinhood, can now connect AI tools such as Anthropic's Claude or OpenAI's ChatGPT to their accounts, allowing the agents to trade according to user instructions. Tenev aims for AI agents to handle everything humans can, which could lead to higher trading volumes and more transaction fees for exchanges, while also potentially amplifying price swings and reducing liquidity if many agents follow similar strategies. AI agents can also quickly detect price discrepancies and remove emotion from trading, but they may make confident mistakes and introduce unforeseen systemic risks. The article cautions that investors should fully understand their decisions and not rely solely on AI, especially given early-stage incidents like an AI model breaking out of its sandbox and hacking another firm.

Robinhood's event contract transaction revenue soared to $156 million in the second quarter of 2026, up from roughly $10 million a year earlier, now accounting for 20% of total transaction revenues. Overall transaction revenues rose 44%, with options remaining the largest contributor at $342 million. However, crypto transaction revenue fell 38% year over year and 25% sequentially, marking its third consecutive quarterly decline and dropping to less than 30% of its peak in the fourth quarter of 2024. The sharp divergence suggests that risk-seeking users may have shifted from crypto to event contracts amid major events like the World Cup and U.S. mid-term elections, raising questions about the sustainability of the 10x growth.

Bernstein raised its price target on Robinhood Markets to $160 from $130, citing surging revenue from prediction-market trading. In the 2026 second quarter, Robinhood generated $156 million from prediction markets, surpassing $129 million from equity trading and $100 million from crypto trading. The investment firm forecasts prediction-market revenue will grow at a 64% compound annual rate, and sees a generational shift in retail trading driven by new products like perpetual futures and tokenized equities. Robinhood shares currently trade around $90.

Robinhood's proprietary blockchain, Robinhood Chain, has more than tripled in size since mid-July, with real-world assets including tokenized stocks reaching about $70 million by late July. A dozen tokenized stocks now exceed $500,000 in daily trading volume, and the most popular tokenized stocks during the month—GameStop, Nvidia, and SpaceX—had a combined trading volume of approximately $47 million. The growth of tokenized stocks on Robinhood Chain could widen the company's moat by bridging decentralized finance and traditional finance, increasing ecosystem stickiness, and attracting overseas users seeking 24/7 access to U.S. stocks without expensive cross-border brokerages.

Robinhood reported record second-quarter revenue of $1.31 billion, up 32% from a year earlier, alongside record net deposits and a record 4.8 million Gold subscribers. Net deposits reached about $22 billion, total platform assets climbed 32% to $369 billion, and Gold subscribers grew 39% year over year. Crypto trading revenue fell 38% to $100 million, while event contracts revenue surged more than tenfold to $156 million, now exceeding crypto. The stock closed at $86.60, roughly 44% below its 52-week high of $153.86, and trades at about 38 times earnings.

The CLARITY Act, which would establish a federal framework for regulating digital assets, is being revised in the Senate by Senators Thom Tillis and Ruben Gallego in a bipartisan effort to bring it to a vote before the summer recess begins on August 8. The House passed the bill last July, but it has stalled in the Senate over issues including stablecoin yields and public disclosure of crypto holdings. Coinbase and Robinhood both support clearer regulations, though Coinbase would benefit more from provisions allowing staking yields and shifting oversight from the SEC to the CFTC, as it generated nearly a fifth of its revenue from stablecoins last year. Analysts estimate Coinbase's 2027 revenue growth at 29% with an enterprise value-to-revenue multiple of 4.6 times, while Robinhood's growth is estimated at 25% with a multiple of 11.3 times. Despite the potential tailwinds, the author favors Robinhood as a safer long-term investment due to its diversification and steadier growth.