The story behind Robinhood
Founded in 2013 by Baiji Bhatt and Vlad Tenev, Robinhood started to make a name for itself as a company somewhere close to the year 2015, when the company managed to raise $176 million from various big-name investors. 2015 saw the launch of Robinhood’s mobile application that acts as an effective investment tool and ultimately connects people with the large diversity of financial markets.
To be more precise, the popular investment application allows interested parties and individuals to invest in conventional securities, like ETFs or stocks. A very big development in the company’s history came forth in January 2018 when it announced that it would be adding cryptocurrency (and Bitcoin) trading to its already successful platform. Hence, besides the traditional investment options, Robinhood users now have the option of purchasing Bitcoin and a wide array of other coins.
What is Robinhood Crypto and how does it work?
Before we dive deep into how the Robinhood Crypto exchange works, users should know that its trading features are smoothly accessible directly within the same interface as the rest of Robinhood’s tools.
The main advantage of this move is that users can buy cryptos, stocks, ETFs, and have the rest of the platform’s available features side by side in one very user-friendly app/environment. Traders can also opt to track the news and the prices of some of the best cryptos out there such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Litecoin, ZCash, Monero, Dash, Stellar, Qtum, Bitcoin Gold, OmiseGo, NEO, and Lisk to name a few.
With all that said and done, the thing that really makes Robinhood Crypto stand out from its competitors is its zero-fee transactions. The platform’s goal is to do away with the concept of trading fees from the market altogether. Therefore, it allows any everyday user to easily invest in the stock market and buy cryptocurrencies with no associated trading fees, giving the platform’s name even more presence and relevance.
In order to benefit from the service, users have to sign up for an account on the platform’s official website.
This might seem like a bit of a scam at first, but rest assured that Robinhood is heavily focused on growing its user base and it basically earns interest from the enormous pool of investment capital. In addition, the service also has a premium subscription plan called Robinhood Gold. With its help, investors can borrow anywhere between $1,000 and $50,000 per month.
How to use Robinhood Crypto
If traders don’t opt for the Gold premium membership, they are able to transfer up to $1,000 from the connected bank account. Once this dealt with (in a timely fashion when compared to other crypto exchanges), users can easily place a buy or sell order. They are then provided with an estimated price, as well as various suggestions in regards to the lowest price.
A very useful feature is the fact that Robinhood aims to help you make trades as close as possible to the estimated price. If the situation arises and the market volatility is too great, then it puts the trade on pause until users can execute it as close to the estimated price as possible. If the price does not return to the estimated threshold, then the user’s money is returned.
Traders can also set up a price at which they are comfortable to trade, and Robinhood ensures that it order is carried out automatically.
Interesting facts
Deposits of more than $1,000 are expected to take up four of five days. The current daily limit on deposits and withdrawals is of $50,000. Robinhood is also registered with various relevant institutions meant to increase its credibilities such as the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, and the Securities Investor Protection Corporation.
As far as security is concerned, users should know the platform does not store banking information, which will be used only once to authenticate the connection between the app/platform and your bank account.
Conclusion
Currently, Robinhood Crypto is still not available everywhere on the globe, and it only supports Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) purchases. As the app expands, the company announced that it had put together a watchlist of other important cryptocurrencies. However, it is without a doubt a very good service and a very good choice for any beginner wanting to get started with crypto trading. It has no fees (in the real sense), and deposits of up to $1,000 are processed almost instantly.
