Robinhood's Long-Term Story Is Bigger Than Crypto Trading

Robinhood (NASDAQ: HOOD), the online brokerage that popularized commission-free trading through its streamlined app, generated 20% its revenue from cryptocurrency trades in 2025. The bears often claim that Robinhood's heavy reliance on crypto trading makes it an unreliable long-term investment, given the crypto market's notorious volatility.

But in the first quarter of 2026, Robinhood's total revenue rose 15% year over year to $1.07 billion, even though its crypto trading revenue plunged 47% to $134 million and only accounted for 13% of its top line. Let's see how Robinhood offset its declining crypto revenue, and why that diversification makes it a better long-term investment.

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Why is Robinhood insulated from the crypto winter?

In the first quarter of 2026, Robinhood's options trading revenue rose 8% to $260 million, its equities trading revenue grew 46% to $82 million, and its "other" transaction revenue (mainly consisting of events/prediction contracts) surged 320% to $147 million. That growth offset its declining crypto revenue, and its total transaction-based revenue rose 7% to $623 million.

Fears of interest rate hikes chilled the crypto market in the first quarter. However, elevated interest rates boosted its net interest revenue, which rose 24% year over year to $359 million, as it collected more interest on uninvested user cash, margin books, and securities lending.

Its subscription platform, Robinhood Gold, also expanded 36% year over year to 4.3 million subscribers in the first quarter. As a result, its subscription revenue jumped 57% to $85 million. So even though Robinhood's transaction-based revenue would surge in a new crypto summer, it has enough irons in the fire to keep it warm through the current crypto winter.

Why is Robinhood an attractive long-term investment?

From 2025 to 2028, analysts expect Robinhood's revenue and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) to both grow at CAGRs of 16%.

That growth should be driven by the expansion of the "Robinhood Chain", its own Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) Layer-2 network for the tokenization of stocks, bonds, real estate, and other assets; the expansion of its prediction markets business, its integration of more agentic AI tools into its platform, and the rollout of even more features for its Gold subscribers.

With an enterprise value of $85 billion, Robinhood's stock still looks reasonably valued at 24 times next year's adjusted EBITDA. Its expansion and evolution into a more diversified fintech platform should reduce its dependence on cryptocurrencies and drive its stock even higher.

Leo Sun has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Ethereum. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.