Robinhood Markets will soon expand its trading offerings with the launch of futures trading for the cryptocurrencies, stocks, and forex markets. The move comes in partnership with CME Group, the world’s leading derivatives marketplace.
According to a Wednesday press release, the new futures contracts, available to eligible Robinhood users in the US over the coming weeks, span five major asset classes.
More Liquidity
Traders will gain access to futures tied to the four major US equity indices, including the S&P 500, Nasdaq-100, Russell 2000, and Dow Jones Industrial Average, as well as popular cryptocurrencies Bitcoin and Ether.
Robinhood is also adding futures contracts for major FX currency pairs, key metals like gold, silver, and copper, and energy commodities such as crude oil and natural gas.
Explaining the reasons behind the futures offerings, Julie Winkler, Chief Commercial Officer at CME Group, said there’s a growing interest in futures trading among retail investors. The exchange aims to cater to customers looking for ways to diversify their portfolios.
“Expanding retail access to futures trading is an integral step in educating and empowering this new crop of investors,” Winkler said, adding that the partnership with Robinhood helps provide “the products and resources needed to tap into today’s most important market.”
According to JB Mackenzie, VP and GM of Futures and International at Robinhood, the company has built “a new mobile trading ladder” focused solely on futures trading. Active traders who need to react quickly to market movements would benefit from the ease of use and speed of the new interface, plus the competitive price, Mackenzie asserted.
Risky Trading
Investor education is the key focus for CME Group and Robinhood. As noted in the press release, CME Group will offer resources like the CME Institute and Futures Fundamentals, while Robinhood will provide futures-focused articles on Robinhood Learn. Robinhood also plans to unveil educational YouTube videos.
In October 2024, Robinhood Markets announced it would add futures and index options trading alongside a redesigned trading platform. The announcement signals a shift for the brokerage known for meme stocks and novice investors as it seeks to challenge established players like Interactive Brokers and Charles Schwab.
At the time, Robinhood said that its futures trading would carry an access commission of 50 cents for Robinhood Gold members and 75 cents for other customers. The company also introduced CBOE Global Markets-supported index options, priced at 35 cents per contract for Gold members and 50 cents for non-Gold clients.
The recent political transition in the US has led to some changes in Robinhood’s listings. Following Donald Trump’s re-election last November, the brokerage re-listed XRP, SOL, and ADA, which it had removed previously due to SEC crackdowns.
The SEC considered XRP a security and sales of XRP as unregistered security offerings in its lawsuit against Ripple Labs and its founders. Last year, enforcement actions started intensifying after the regulator initiated lawsuits against Binance and Coinbase, in which they labeled SOL and ADA, among others, securities.
Robinhood’s delisting move at that time was seen as part of its effort to comply with regulatory guidelines. Now that the US is welcoming a pro-crypto president and soon getting a crypto advocate SEC Chairman, there is widespread hope that the regulatory environment is becoming less hostile, and more crypto-friendly.
Robinhood also announced it had started supporting trading for PEPE, the popular memecoin, post-Trump victory.
Apart from listings and futures trading rollouts, tokenization appears to be an area that Robinhood is setting its sights on.
In a recent opinion piece in The Washington Post, the company’s CEO, Vlad Tenev, urged the SEC to update its investor rules that would allow startups to tokenize their equity. Tenev believes the current “accredited investor” regulations are too restrictive, limiting opportunities for ordinary investors to participate in private markets.
This articles is written by : Nermeen Nabil Khear Abdelmalak
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By Nermeen Nabil Khear