No more than four weeks following the debut of its first official cryptocurrency wallet, which touted nearly two million on its initial waiting list, Robinhood now vies to deliver even more Web3 protocols for its platform through the implementation of a non-custodial crypto wallet. The new offering would allow Robinhood users a more streamlined blockchain-based experience, giving customers the full breadth of their digital currencies and even the showcasing potential of their NFTs.
Robinhood's current cryptocurrency wallet has been largely in the crosshairs for its limited reach. Users with crypto on Robinhood must rely solely on the company and its underlying system, meaning if anything were to happen to the firm (like, a malware attack, or system-wide update) users are kind of SOL if their cryptocurrency gets misplaced. Still, while Robinhood's forthcoming non-custodial wallet proves to be a shift in the right direction for the avid crypto bros, it's also a detriment to those not exactly initiated with digital assets, blockchain, and the like.
Essentially, Robinhood is trying to expand its reach into the Web3 realm. With a non-custodial wallet, customers are thus given the entire range of potential, but it also comes with the caveat of potentially losing all of one's funds if their private keys get stolen or misplaced. Like many assorted crypto and digital asset wallets, Robinhood relays that its iteration will be separate from the current Robinhood app, akin to Coinbase.
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The equities trading firm also relayed that the non-custodial crypto wallet will, of course, support NFTs, as well as other assorted decentralized finance protocols, like flash loans, yield harvesting, stablecoins, etc. Robinhood's new wallet can be utilized like all others, allowing customers to trade and store digital assets without any additional network fees. It will also carry currently unsupported cryptocurrencies unseen on the Robinhood app.
While crypto can be purchased and sold on the platform currently, the coin options are rather limited and they really only act as a speculative asset. Users can't take out their crypto and spend it through the Robinhood platform, thus it either just sits there or users can move it to an actual already existing wallet, like MetaMask or Coinbase.
As mentioned previously, Robinhood's current offering is the best bet for those who aren't already well acquainted with crypto and digital asset collection. Although relatively new, it serves as a good baseline for users to kind of get used to how crypto operates and doesn't come with the potential of losing that secure key. Custodial wallets, however, come charged with the negative connotation of "not your keys, not your coins," which absolutely makes sense in the grand scheme of things, but shouldn't outweigh the pros of utilizing Robinhood as a safe spot for your crypto.
An email chain citing the news was also spread to Robinhood users, allowing potential Web3 crypto enthusiasts to dive into the action as soon as it drops, purportedly by the end of the year for its full official launch, with a beta round set for "later this summer." The email cites three main aspects of utilization for the non-custodial crypto wallet as being:
"1. Trade and swap crypto with NO network fees
2. Earn yield on your crypto
3. Store NFTs and connect to NFT marketplaces."
Users quick enough to hit the "join the list" button will be entered into the waiting list, which was at around 130,000 at the time of writing. Those interested in being among the first in line for Robinhood's Web3 wallet can join here.
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