Robinhood
- Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev says the company is focused on expanding its crypto offerings.
- He said users can expect a crypto wallet at "some point."
- It's a glimpse at the company's future ahead of it's highly anticipated IPO.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev announced Saturday that crypto is a lynchpin of the retail investment app's future, and a wallet could be in the works.
"We've been doing a lot of work behind the scenes to provide our crypto customers with the functionality that they've been asking for," he said. "We know you want wallets."
Users can expect a beta release of new crypto features at "some point," he said, but did not provide any further timeline. It's a more tentative proclamation than he's previously made. Back in March, Tenev promised users a crypto wallet "as fast as possible."
Robinhood users currently can't transfer crypto assets in and out of their account, potentially driving some customers to platforms like Coinbase. However, Tenev said that will be fixed as well.
"We want to introduce new features safely," he said. "And there's a lot of items we have to get right from the start."
Tenev's statements came during Robinhood's public roadshow Saturday, where the company's top executives fielded questions from the public about its upcoming IPO, planned for Thursday.
It's been clear for awhile that Robinhood, founded in 2013, was veering into the crypto world. In the company's S-1, it revealed that 17% of its first quarter revenue came from cryptocurrency transactions.
But the company has admitted that crypto trading might be a liability. Dogecoin made up 34% of Robinhood's first quarter crypto-trading revenue, according to its IPO filing. If interest in the meme coin declines, the company said it could be a risk to the business.
Especially in light of the many, many headlines about the company, Robinhood's IPO is highly anticipated. In its regulatory filing, the company said it's aiming to raise as much as $2.3 billion, with a market valuation at $35 billion at the top range. In line with company's mission to "democratize finance," it will offer a third of its shares directly to customers through its app.