American commission-free broker, Robinhood (Nasdaq: HOOD) is going to significantly reduce its workforce, laying off around 9 percent of its full-time employees. The decision came when publicly-traded Robinhood stocks are trading at an all-time low price.

In an official letter published on Tuesday, Robinhood’s CEO, Vlad Tenev pointed out that the broker increased its headcount almost six times from 700 to nearly 3800 between 2019 and 2021. That was particularly fueled by Robinhood’s revenue growth from around $278 million to $1.8 billion.

“This rapid headcount growth has led to some duplicate roles and job functions, and more layers and complexity than are optimal. After carefully considering all these factors, we determined that making these reductions to Robinhood’s staff is the right decision to improve efficiency, increase our velocity, and ensure that we are responsive to the changing needs of our customers,” Tenev wrote.

But, the company will not freeze its hiring and “will retain and continue to hire exceptional talent in key roles.”

HOOD at All-Time Low

However, Tenev did not mention the falling value of Robinhood stocks on the stock markets. The company went public in mid-2021 with an initial public offering (IPO). At its peak in August 2021, HOOD stocks peaked at roughly $55 but have slumped almost 82 percent since.

Robinhood disrupted the  retail trading  Retail Trading In finance, retail trading refers to individual traders, trading through a broker, or on a platform. This can include novice traders and experienced traders. Trading and investing are divided into two categories, retail and institutional. Institutions include investment banks like JP Morgan or Citibank and global central banks like the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank. When we talk about retail trading however, we usually are referring to forex trading, but there are retail traders in every market ranging from commodities to stocks. The forex market is by far the largest and has the most retail traders. Retail foreign exchange trading is a small segment of the broader foreign exchange market where individuals speculate on the exchange rate between different currencies. In 2020 it is estimated that the forex market will exceed 7 billion dollars in daily activity. Retail Trading Sector Continues to GrowThe retail sector has developed with the advent of dedicated electronic trading platforms and the internet, which have allowed individuals to access the global currency markets. In 2016, it was reported that volume from retail foreign exchange trading represents 5.5% of the whole foreign exchange market or $385 million in daily trading turnover. Individual retail traders can access the same trades as central banks and online financial institutions. The retail forex trading industry is growing every day with the advent of trading platforms and their ease of accessibility on the internet.Retail traders rely on brokerage services who provide access to markets in the form of comprehensive trading platforms. The most common of these are MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5), which offer trading to forex, stocks, contracts-for-difference (CFDs), and other assets. In finance, retail trading refers to individual traders, trading through a broker, or on a platform. This can include novice traders and experienced traders. Trading and investing are divided into two categories, retail and institutional. Institutions include investment banks like JP Morgan or Citibank and global central banks like the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank. When we talk about retail trading however, we usually are referring to forex trading, but there are retail traders in every market ranging from commodities to stocks. The forex market is by far the largest and has the most retail traders. Retail foreign exchange trading is a small segment of the broader foreign exchange market where individuals speculate on the exchange rate between different currencies. In 2020 it is estimated that the forex market will exceed 7 billion dollars in daily activity. Retail Trading Sector Continues to GrowThe retail sector has developed with the advent of dedicated electronic trading platforms and the internet, which have allowed individuals to access the global currency markets. In 2016, it was reported that volume from retail foreign exchange trading represents 5.5% of the whole foreign exchange market or $385 million in daily trading turnover. Individual retail traders can access the same trades as central banks and online financial institutions. The retail forex trading industry is growing every day with the advent of trading platforms and their ease of accessibility on the internet.Retail traders rely on brokerage services who provide access to markets in the form of comprehensive trading platforms. The most common of these are MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5), which offer trading to forex, stocks, contracts-for-difference (CFDs), and other assets. Read this Term industry with its commission-free model. But, the company is now heavily dependent on cryptocurrency trading as crypto traders are now generating a large part of its revenue.

Additionally, the broker has reported heavy losses for the last few quarters: in the last quarter of 2021, the platform suffered a net loss of $423 million, while in the prior quarter, it had reached $1.3 billion.

Meanwhile, the platform continues to expand its presence on the crypto front. It recently purchased British crypto  startup  Startup A company operating within its first stage of investing is known as a startup. While startups may give the impression that the company must be new, that is not always the case.Many companies can have this designation after nearly three years of existence. Typically, a company exits the startup status after a period between 3 to 5 years or after successful funding rounds where capital is acquired. Startups tend to derive out of the belief that there is a demand for a service or product which is created by at least one or more entrepreneurs. These seek capital as a means to bypass a limited availability of capital and combat high costs. This is why startups seek funding from funding rounds, crowdfunding, venture capitalists, financial institutions, or other sources. What Makes Startups Successful?Given the fact that most startups fail, the first three years of a startup are critical which is why startup founders require capital for talent acquisition, creating effective business models and plans.In parallel it is important to provide proof-of-concept for the long-term through an established user base and consistent revenue streams. Many startups use seed funding, which occurs during the first stage of funding rounds, where fundraised capital is used to conduct market research and product or service development.Sometimes, startups go through an acquisition process, where they merge larger companies competing in a similar industry. Companies that generate less than $20 million annually, possess less than 80 employees, and are primarily controlled by the founding entrepreneur(s) are generally classified as startups. Today, some of the world’s most successful companies started as startups, such as Facebook, Uber, and SpaceX to name a few. A company operating within its first stage of investing is known as a startup. While startups may give the impression that the company must be new, that is not always the case.Many companies can have this designation after nearly three years of existence. Typically, a company exits the startup status after a period between 3 to 5 years or after successful funding rounds where capital is acquired. Startups tend to derive out of the belief that there is a demand for a service or product which is created by at least one or more entrepreneurs. These seek capital as a means to bypass a limited availability of capital and combat high costs. This is why startups seek funding from funding rounds, crowdfunding, venture capitalists, financial institutions, or other sources. What Makes Startups Successful?Given the fact that most startups fail, the first three years of a startup are critical which is why startup founders require capital for talent acquisition, creating effective business models and plans.In parallel it is important to provide proof-of-concept for the long-term through an established user base and consistent revenue streams. Many startups use seed funding, which occurs during the first stage of funding rounds, where fundraised capital is used to conduct market research and product or service development.Sometimes, startups go through an acquisition process, where they merge larger companies competing in a similar industry. Companies that generate less than $20 million annually, possess less than 80 employees, and are primarily controlled by the founding entrepreneur(s) are generally classified as startups. Today, some of the world’s most successful companies started as startups, such as Facebook, Uber, and SpaceX to name a few. Read this Term Ziglu to further enhance its presence in the country.

“We will continue to accelerate our product momentum through 2022 and will introduce key new products across Brokerage, Crypto and Spending/Saving,” Tenev added.