Robinhood Reports 6 Million New Crypto Traders in 2021

In a blog post on Feb. 26 titled “Crypto goes mainstream” the retail trading app revealed that it had seen six million new customers on Robinhood Crypto so far this year.

The number of new monthly customers buying from its crypto platform in 2021 is 15 times the 2020 average.

“By comparison, this number peaked at 401,000 in a single month last year, with a monthly average of about 200,000 customers trading on Robinhood Crypto for the first time during 2020.”

Robinhood, which had to halt trading in late January due to overwhelming demand, offers just seven tradeable crypto assets; Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin SV, Dogecoin, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, and Litecoin.

There are no trading size limits though it added that the average transaction size is around $500. The chart provided indicates that the average trade was around half of that at $200 to $250 for the previous year.

First-time buyer？ Long-term #HODLer？ ???? This year, six million of you used Robinhood Crypto for the first time to buy and sell #crypto. We fully intend to provide the ability to deposit and withdraw cryptocurrencies.???? Learn more: https://t.co/8VQhKtWB32pic.twitter.com/rwsVdlNIg3

— Robinhood (@RobinhoodApp) February 25, 2021

Retail Traders Surging

The app offers an intuitive user interface and educational articles that explain cryptocurrencies. It is targeted at newbies that may not have the technical knowledge to operate more advanced trading platforms.

It also offers zero-fee trading, but makes money on spreads between makers and takers.

The report reinforces the premise that retail has arrived after months of steady institutional investment which has pushed many high cap crypto assets including Bitcoin and Ethereum to their highest ever prices.

“The numbers are clear: 2021 has started with a crypto bang.”

In a Feb. 18 note from company CEO and co-founder, Vlad Tenev, it was revealed that the total value of customer assets on Robinhood (for all markets) exceeds the net amount of money they have deposited by over $35 billion. He added;

“While markets fluctuate, this tells me that our business model is working for everyday Americans.”

Crypto Correction Deepens

The Robinhood numbers are bullish for overall sentiment, but the crypto correction is deepening and March is usually a bearish month for markets.

Since its all-time high of $1.78 trillion on Feb. 22, total market capitalization has declined by 18% to $1.46 trillion today according to Coingecko.

Bitcoin has been leading the drop as usual with an 18.7% fall from its $58k peak last weekend to just over $47k at the time of press. Meanwhile, Ethereum has been hit even harder, retreating 27% from its ATH of over $2k to below $1,500.

Another 30% correction could be on the cards, echoing the one that occurred in early January when Bitcoin prices dropped below $30k before recovering to a new high. The bigger picture still paints a bull market.