Robinhood sees slide in Dogecoin trading interest

Capital Markets • November 10, 2021, 11:32AM EST

Much decline.

Robinhood — the crypto and equities broker — has released financial data showing that trading in meme-coin Doge declined from 62% of its cryptocurrency transaction revenue in Q2 to 40% in the most recent quarter.

"For the three months ended September 30, 2021, 40% of our cryptocurrency transaction-based revenue was attributable to transactions in Dogecoin, as compared to 62% for the three months ended June 30, 2021 and 34% for the three months ended March 31, 2021," the firm said in a filing reviewed by The Block Research on Wednesday.

The dogecoin data shouldn't come as a surprise given the sanguine quarter for Robinhood's crypto business in Q3. The firm reported earnings for the third quarter at the end of October, showing a broader decline in interest in the crypto market during that period.

Popularity in Dogecoin trading translated into a strong second quarter for Robinhood's crypto business. Still, crypto traders are a fickle bunch, often moving quickly between tokens. That could be a disadvantage for Robinhood relative to its competitors given that it is in no rush to list new coins.

The firm's crypto lead, Christine Brown, said at an industry event hosted by crypto publication Decrypt that its strategy is not to "list as many assets as possible right now."

“We think that the short-term gain we might get is not worth the long-term trade-off for our users,” she added.

About Author

Frank Chaparro is the Editor At Large at The Block. Chaparro started his career at Business Insider, where he specialized in the intersection of digital assets and Wall Street, market structure, and financial technology. Soon after joining Business Insider out of Fordham University, Chaparro was interviewing top finance and tech executives, including billionaire Mark Cuban, “Flash Boys” star Brad Katsuyama, Cboe Global Markets CEO Ed Tilly, and New York Stock Exchange President Tom Farley. In 2018, he become a sought after reporter in the crypto world, interviewing luminaries such as Tyler Winklevoss, the cofounder of Gemini, Jeremy Allaire, the CEO of Circle, and Fundstrat head Tom Lee. He runs his own podcast The Scoop and writes a biweekly eponymous newsletter. He leads special projects, including The Block's flagship podcast, The Scoop. Prior to The Block, he held roles at Business Insider, NPR, and Nasdaq. For inquiries or tips, email [email protected].