Robinhood is using stablecoins to power its weekend settlements

Retail brokerage platform Robinhood has disclosed that it is using stablecoins for its weekend settlements, noting that this is just one of the benefits of stablecoins. The CEO, Vlad Tenev, disclosed this during its latest earnings call for Q4 of 2024.

According to Tenev, Robinhood is already enjoying the benefits of stablecoin technology for its business, particularly the advantage of stablecoin’s twenty-four-hour instant settlement.

He said:

“And in particular, we’re using Stablecoin to power a lot of our weekend settlements now, and we’re using it increasingly.”

While Tenev did not provide full details into how Robinhood is using stablecoins for settlement, one user noted the platform likely uses stablecoins to settle market makers on weekends when the Fed wires are closed to avoid the accumulation of trade imbalance.

Robinhood’s business now includes stablecoins

Robinhood’s goals extend beyond using stablecoins for settlement. It targets mass retail adoption of stablecoins but believes that this will only happen when there is a clear advantage to holding stablecoins.

The company noted that it is a partner in Paxos’s Global Dollar (USDG) stablecoin. USDG, also called Global Dollar Network, is a Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)- compliant stablecoin that returns yield on its reserves to holders. Robinhood believes this is the future of stablecoins and observed that several of the major stablecoins presently do not give any yield to holders.

The CEO said:

“I think many of the leading stablecoins don’t have a great way to pass yield to holders, And that makes them not ideal for holding dollars in that form. So you see a lot of use for transaction moving money back and forth. But in terms of actually, like, holding dollars in stablecoin form, yield is an important piece.”

Robinhood considers itself one of the early adopters of stablecoins and expects other companies to join once they see how its business benefits from stablecoin adoption. The platform predicted that this would boost institutional adoption of stablecoin.

Robinhood crypto business a major growth driver

Robinhood’s mention of stablecoins and its growth potential is unsurprising, given how important crypto was to its business in the last quarter of 2024. The company reported a 10% increase in accounts, reaching 26.2 million.

The platform achieved over $1 billion in quarterly revenue for the first time ever, leading to its total revenue exceeding $3 billion for the year. Crypto-related transactions constituted 30% of its Q4 revenue, with a 700% increase that saw it reach $358 million.

This was mostly due to increased crypto trading activity in reaction to Donald Trump’s victory and the expected regulatory clarity that will come with his administration. That period also coincided with Bitcoin reaching a new all-time high.

However, it was also a busy year for the company in terms of product launches. New products such as Robinhood Derivatives and Robinhood Legend saw strong adoption. Its Robinhood Gold credit card also has over 2.6 million users now.

Following its performance, which surpassed Wall Street expectations, Robinhood stock saw major gains in pre-market trading, rising by 14% to reach $63.44. This is positive news given that it has seen over 30% market share increase year-over-year in options and equities.

Meanwhile, the firm wants to expand into Asia and will use Singapore as its base in the region. Singapore has a relatively pro-innovation regulatory framework that makes it attractive for several companies seeking to gain a foothold in the Asia and Pacific region.

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