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The brokerage platform Robinhood wants to develop in crypto and expand its investment products. The company announces to prepare functionalities of deposit and withdrawal of cryptocurrencies.
An additional boost to the democratization of cryptocurrencies? The American trading platform Robinhood plans to add new services in the field of crypto. It will be equipped, at an indefinite date, with withdrawal and deposit functions.
To date, Robinhood offers its clients the opportunity to buy and sell 7 cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC), Dogecoin (DOGE), Ether (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), Ethereum Classic (ETC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Bitcoin SV (BSV). However, customers cannot directly manage their crypto-actives there.
So that will change. Eventually, users will be able to access the tokens themselves in order to transfer them to other portfolios. Robinhood will offer for this purpose a custody service with a conservation on its own wallets.
The company provides some details on this subject. “We fully intend to provide the ability to deposit and withdraw cryptocurrencies, including DOGE. “It is not yet known whether the 7 cryptoes available on Robinhood will be affected.
Furthermore, the platform insists on the fact that it “does not currently invest in cryptocurrencies. “Similarly, it adds that it “does not use a client’s cryptocurrencies for its own benefit”, as some exchanges do.
“The cryptocurrencies purchased and held by our customers are held in our portfolios for the benefit of our customers. In addition, we do not receive coins until our customers’ transactions have already been settled,” Robinhood added.
But will the online broker be able to reassure clients following recent controversial decisions? On January 29th, Robinhood suspended instant fiat currency deposits for crypto acquisition. These were active again on 4 February.
The platform justified this decision by “extraordinary market conditions”. However, it was already under fire from critics for freezing the purchase of certain titles, in particular GameStop. This unilateral policy has led to strong accusations.
These controversial episodes could discourage users from depositing their cryptocurrencies, for fear that a unilateral decision by Robinhood would result in the immobilization of their assets. In order to convince, the company will therefore have to restore trust.