Robinhood Plans to Enter the Stablecoin Market: Can It Challenge Tether?

Friday, 27/09/2024 | 05:22 GMT by Arnab Shome

A Robinhood spokesperson said that the company has “no imminent plans to launch this offering.”

Tether, with a market cap of about $120 billion, dominates the $170 billion stablecoin market.

After Revolut, American zero-commission broker Robinhood is now considering launching stablecoins, Bloomberg reported. However, a Robinhood spokesperson said the company has “no imminent plans to launch this offering” without dismissing the report.

Robinhood’s Crypto Bet

Although it started as a disruptor in the American stock brokerage market, Robinhood expanded its offerings to crypto. It now generates a significant portion of its revenue from services around digital assets. Its crypto transactions revenue doubled to $81 million in the second quarter of 2024, while the total transaction-based revenue was $327 million.

Robinhood has been offering cryptocurrencies to its American users for years, but it expanded to Europe last December. It further broadened its European crypto services by launching staking and circulating the app in multiple local languages.

The latest report outlined that the American company’s plans with stablecoins are to challenge Tether's dominance and fill the gap after the rollout of the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) in the European Union.

The first phase of MiCA came into effect earlier this year, imposing several restrictions on the circulation of stablecoins in the bloc. Many crypto companies operating in the region were forced to delist several non-compliant stablecoins to adhere to local regulations.

The Promise of Stablecoins

Unlike Bitcoin and other volatile cryptocurrencies, stablecoins are decentralized digital currencies pegged to either currencies, other mainstream assets, or both. That makes them very stable—hence the name “stablecoin.” While mainstream financial institutions often reject the adoption of cryptos, many have embraced stablecoins due to their advantages in settlements.

Tether dominates the $170 billion stablecoin market but is now losing its dominance. While the market capitalization of Tether is about $120 billion, the second-largest stablecoin, USDC, has over $36 billion. PayPal's stablecoin, launched last year, also surpassed $1 billion in circulation in August but has since dropped by 30 percent, according to CoinGecko.

Revolut is also reportedly entering the stablecoin market. The company has yet to make any official statement though. A Revolut spokesperson also told Bloomberg that the company will “further grow” its crypto products without specifying stablecoins.