Robinhood says SEC closing investigation into crypto trading platform without enforcement action

Robinhood announced Monday that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has concluded its investigation into its cryptocurrency trading operation without pursuing any enforcement action.

The SEC's Enforcement Division notified Robinhood in a letter that it had completed its inquiry and did not intend to proceed with any enforcement measures. This development follows the SEC's issuance of a Wells Notice to Robinhood in May 2024, which indicated the possibility of an enforcement action at that time.

"As we explained to the SEC, any case against Robinhood Crypto would have failed," said Robinhood Markets Compliance and Corporate Affairs Officer Dan Gallagher. "We appreciate the formal closing of this investigation, and we are happy to see a return to the rule of law and commitment to fairness at the SEC."

The statement from Robinhood said that the firm has long disagreed with the argument that transactions involving most digital assets fall under federal securities laws.

"However, Robinhood Crypto, as opposed to other platforms, made difficult choices not to provide certain products and services that the SEC under previous Chair Gensler alleged are securities in public actions," the firm said in its statement.

Robinhood's crypto trading volume surged in Q4, 2024

The SEC's decision comes after the commission-free brokerage firm reported fourth-quarter earnings in early February that showed crypto trading volume on the platform grew 400% year-over-year to $70 billion, while equity trading volume rose 154% to $423 billion.

Robinhood's transaction-based revenues increased 200% from last year to $672 million, with cryptocurrency trading bringing in $358 million, a sevenfold increase from the previous year.

Since the start of the fourth quarter, Robinhood has also added seven crypto assets in the U.S. and launched Ethereum staking in the EU.