Robinhood plans to let users trade some US stocks round-the-clock during weekends, wager on specific corporate earnings metrics, and trade perpetual futures
First reported by Reuters ·
You can now trade select U.S. stocks and ETFs seven days a week, directly on Robinhood.
Robinhood announced a suite of new features aimed at attracting active traders, including extended trading hours, AI-powered trading tools, and leveraged cryptocurrency derivatives. The brokerage will now offer weekend trading for select U.S. stocks and ETFs, expanding its 24 Hour Market to cover the entire week. Robinhood Agents, integrated AI assistants powered by OpenAI or Anthropic models, will allow users to research markets and execute trades, with options for automated strategies via a feature called Loops. The platform is also introducing perpetual futures for eligible U.S. customers, offering up to 10x leverage on Bitcoin and Ether, and expanding options trading hours and intraday margin. Additionally, Robinhood is launching derivatives that allow trading on specific corporate earnings metrics through Cboe. These initiatives reflect Robinhood's strategy to become the primary platform for active retail traders seeking diverse investment opportunities beyond traditional market hours.
Robinhood's expansion into 24/7 stock trading, perpetual futures, and AI agents signifies a broader trend of brokerages adopting crypto-native functionalities to court active traders. The move challenges the traditional weekday-only market structure, directly competing with crypto exchanges that operate continuously. By integrating AI for trade execution and research, Robinhood is also leaning into the generative AI wave, aiming to automate complex trading strategies and provide sophisticated tools directly within its retail-focused platform.
This aggressive product development puts pressure on incumbents like Schwab and Fidelity to accelerate their own innovation cycles, particularly in offering extended hours and more advanced trading products. The introduction of leveraged crypto derivatives like perpetual futures to a wider U.S. retail audience, despite regulatory scrutiny, signals Robinhood's confidence in demand for high-risk, high-reward instruments, potentially normalizing these products within mainstream finance.
AI-written summary. May contain errors.