Robinhood (HOOD) is focusing more on advanced crypto traders, a pivot that reflects changing customer behavior during a volatile year for digital assets.
“What we saw really depends on the customer segment,” Johann Kerbrat, head of crypto at Robinhood, said in an interview.
“We have a lot of customers who are a little bit younger. For them, they see this as an opportunity to buy on the dip because they have a longer-term horizon, so they worry less about the short-term impact,” he said.
But the company also sees a growing segment of more sophisticated users who trade more frequently, including day trading and managing cost basis strategies, said Kerbrat, who will speak at Consensus Hong Kong in February 2026.
“We have seen a lot more activity from our advanced trader segment,” he said. “It’s a combination of having more advanced traders now, and also more tools at their disposal.”
To support this change, Robinhood has introduced features such as tax batch selection and custom cost basis options for crypto transfers, which help users manage their tax exposure more effectively.
Crypto trades can now flow through seven liquidity venues, and trading fees drop by up to three basis points depending on user volume.
For years, the trading platform was considered a beginner-friendly platform, a place where users would get their start in crypto before moving on to more advanced tools elsewhere. Robinhood is now trying to change that narrative.
“For the longest time, I think people looked at Robinhood as more of a single product,” he said. “People were like, ‘Oh, you can start on Robinhood, but then you go to another platform.’ Now we’re seeing more advanced traders coming to Robinhood from other platforms because they’re excited about what we’re building.
The development comes as Robinhood plans to expand its crypto business through international expansion, partnerships with on-chain protocols, and infrastructure upgrades designed to support more advanced trading features.
Still, the company says it’s focused less on gross trading volume — which can fluctuate depending on market conditions — and more on capturing market share.
“If the volume is low, there’s really nothing I can do about it,” Kerbrat said. “But if someone prefers to use Kraken or Coinbase over Robinhood, that means my product isn’t good enough – so I’m going to focus on improving it.”
What does 2026 have in store for us?
“I think next year will be about accessibility,” Kerbrat said. “For too long, crypto has been built by engineers for engineers. We want to extend that to everything we build on-chain.”
