Robinhood Markets Inc. experienced a significant decrease in crypto trading, as their recent report showed a 68% plunge from the previous year. The mobile-focused brokerage firm revealed that crypto trading was close to $2.1 billion in May 2023, a sharp contrast to the $6.6 billion reported in May 2022. This decline is not only on a year-to-year basis, as Robinhood also saw a 43% reduction in trading from April to May 2023.
The diminishing numbers come on the heels of Robinhood’s decision to delist cryptocurrencies Cardano, Polygon, and Solana after the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) declared them as securities in their charges against Binance and Coinbase. As the world’s largest crypto exchange and the largest US-based crypto exchange respectively, Binance and Coinbase faced lawsuits from the SEC on June 5th and 6th. As a result, Robinhood halted support for the three cryptocurrencies on June 27th.
Although investors were allowed to buy, sell, and hold ADA, MATIC, and SOL until the deadline, this event led to a drop in the values of the three cryptocurrencies. Solana, for example, experienced a decline from $22.23 on June 4th to nearly $15. Cardano and Polygon faced similarly disappointing trends.
The SEC, led by Chair Gary Gensler, has been urging crypto firms to register with the agency, despite repeated accusations that the industry’s business model is built on noncompliance. Throughout his tenure, Gensler has overseen constructive conversations with dozens of crypto firms, aiming to bring their business models into compliance.
However, Coinbase claims to have been dismissed by the SEC during their months-long quest for registration. According to Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal, the SEC gave no response or counterproposal during a House Agriculture Committee hearing, despite multiple efforts from Coinbase to find a solution.
These recent developments shed light on the challenges faced by the crypto industry, in terms of regulatory compliance and market fluctuations. Although Robinhood and other platforms have reported significant declines in trading, the future of the crypto market is still uncertain. As industry players continue to grapple with changes in regulation and market dynamics, the outcomes may lead to a more stable and secure environment or further difficulties for both investors and crypto platforms.
Source: Cryptonews
