Robinhood’s self-custody wallet has launched in beta to 10,000 iOS customers globally.
Robinhood Wallet, a standalone app on the Apple Store, allows users to trade and swap crypto without network fees. The app is initially launching with Polygon support but will support multiple networks in the future, according to Robinhood.
Polygon was chosen for its low-cost model, Seong Seog Lee, head of product at Robinhood Crypto, told The Block.
“Launching the Robinhood Wallet beta marks a significant step forward in our journey to make Robinhood the most trusted and simple crypto platform for customers,” said Johann Kerbrat, chief technology officer at Robinhood Crypto. Robinhood aims to emulate what it did with stock trading for crypto.
Circle’s USDC stablecoin will be the primary fiat-representative token on the app during the beta period, according to Robinhood. There will also be a rewards center on the app where users can accrue rewards, such as earning the MATIC token for creating their wallet.
Robinhood Wallet will offer more tokens than Robinhood’s main platform. Kerbrat said that between 25 and 30 tokens will be available during the beta. The firm also plans to add NFTs to the platform after the beta period is completed.
The retail investing platform’s expansion into web3 and self-custody comes as a growing number of crypto exchanges in the U.S. drop fees for trading pairs in an effort to capture market share. Such moves have come in reaction to slumping crypto exchange volumes.
Source : theblock
