Robinhood is just not leaping to hitch corporations placing crypto on their steadiness sheets, signaling a wait-and-see method even because the treasury playbook spreads throughout public markets.
On the third-quarter earnings name, incoming CFO Shiv Verma mentioned the corporate is “nonetheless excited about it.”
He famous that Robinhood values “alignment with the neighborhood” and is a significant venue for crypto buying and selling. But, the finance workforce should weigh whether or not including Bitcoin or different tokens to the steadiness sheet is the suitable use of capital for shareholders.
Robinhood’s broader crypto enterprise, in the meantime, continues to broaden.
The buying and selling platform reported that Q3 transaction-based income climbed 129% from a yr earlier to $730m, powered by a pointy rebound in digital asset exercise. Crypto income reached $268m, up greater than 300% year-on-year, serving to the corporate surpass Wall Avenue earnings forecasts.
Whereas DATs Develop, Robinhood Focuses On Flexibility Over Hype
Additional, Verma sketched the trade-offs. Holding tokens might please customers, he mentioned, but it surely ties up capital that could possibly be deployed elsewhere. He identified that shareholders can purchase Bitcoin straight on Robinhood. The quick model, he added, is that there are professionals and cons, and the corporate will hold evaluating the concept.
The stance contrasts with the rise of digital asset treasury corporations, or DATs. MicroStrategy’s playbook, which included convertible notes, at-the-market fairness gross sales and most popular inventory to fund ongoing purchases, helped construct a reported Bitcoin stash value greater than $70b by mid-2025.
That mannequin impressed followers corresponding to Metaplanet in Japan and Semler Scientific within the US.
Critics Say Treasury Crypto Rush Dangers Changing into An Exit Technique For Insiders
By business tallies, company holdings have grown sharply since 2020, spreading from a handful of early movers to greater than 100 companies. Allocations stay dominated by Bitcoin, whereas some treasuries have added Ether and Solana as liquidity improved.
Columbia professor @malekanoms calls digital asset treasuries "extraction schemes" as Bitcoin drops beneath $100K and crypto loses $1 trillion in worth.#Bitcoin #DATshttps://t.co/22ERtbcfe2
— Cryptonews.com (@cryptonews) November 5, 2025
Not everyone seems to be satisfied. Columbia Enterprise Faculty’s Omid Malekan just lately argued that digital asset treasuries have morphed right into a “mass extraction and exit occasion,” saying some packages seem designed to complement insiders relatively than construct lasting worth.
He pointed to promotional decks heavy on buzzwords and skinny on element, alongside strain ways throughout fundraising.
Market context has turned harder as effectively. Bitcoin slipped beneath $100,000 this week for the primary time since June and, at about 20% off its October peak, entered a technical bear market. Whole crypto market worth has fallen by greater than $1 trillion from the highs, a backdrop that makes steadiness sheet bets tougher to justify for boards and threat committees.
Robinhood’s Technique Facilities On Capital Effectivity As Treasury Flows Stall
Liquidity from company patrons additionally seems patchier. Coinbase’s David Duong mentioned exercise from treasury patrons has been quiet because the Oct. 10 drawdown, describing a lull in purchases over the previous two weeks and a scarcity of clear re-engagement.
For Robinhood, the calculus leans towards optionality. The agency already earns buying and selling and custody revenues with out taking worth threat by itself steadiness sheet. Verma’s feedback counsel administration desires flexibility to deploy capital into progress initiatives, whereas preserving the door open if circumstances or technique change.
Shareholder alignment stays the anchor. Verma mentioned the workforce weighs whether or not holding tokens is the “finest use of our capital,” and repeated that clients who need publicity can purchase straight by way of the platform.
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