Cryptocurrency trading nearly doubled, "American influencer brokerage" Robinhood's performance exceeded expectations

With the boost from the cryptocurrency trading boom, the "American influencer brokerage" Robinhood has delivered a quarterly report that exceeded market expectations. According to a statement released by the company on Wednesday, its total net revenue for the second quarter increased by 45% year-on-year to $989 million, surpassing the average analyst expectation of $921.5 million. Among these, revenue from cryptocurrency trading became the biggest highlight, soaring 98% year-on-year to $160 million, nearly doubling and just slightly below the analyst expectation of $162.1 million. This performance ended a record of three-digit growth over the previous five consecutive quarters. The company's net profit also performed impressively, doubling expectations to $386 million, or 42 cents per share. Boosted by the performance, Robinhood's stock price initially rose 3.34% in after-hours trading, but has since turned down 0.7%, with a cumulative increase of 185% year-to-date. Company executives expressed optimism about the outlook. Chief Financial Officer Jason Warnick stated in the announcement, "July has started off well for the third quarter, with net customer deposits accelerating to approximately $6 billion, and various trading activities remain strong." Tokenized Stock Business Draws Regulatory Attention Robinhood is accelerating its innovative steps in the cryptocurrency field. In June of this year, the company began offering "tokenized" stocks to 150,000 customers across 30 countries in Europe. CEO Vlad Tenev described this move as "the biggest innovation in our industry in the past decade." However, this business has quickly attracted scrutiny from European regulators. A previous article from Wallstreetcn reported that Robinhood's tokenized stock trading business allows European retail investors to purchase tokens linked to equity in unlisted companies like OpenAI and SpaceX. However, this move has not only faced strong opposition and warnings from OpenAI but has also drawn the attention of European regulatory authorities, with the Bank of Lithuania launching an investigation into Robinhood's stock token products. Adhering to a Bank Partnership Model Amid the trend of fintech companies applying for banking licenses, Robinhood has chosen a different path. Tenev stated during Wednesday's analyst conference call that he prefers to collaborate with banks rather than becoming a bank directly. "The drawbacks of obtaining a banking license outweigh the benefits," Tenev said. He revealed that Robinhood is working with the fintech-friendly Coastal Community Bank to launch bank-like products. This strategic choice reflects the company's consideration of seeking a balance between rapid expansion and compliance risks