Robinhood Unveils Sweeping Overhaul for Active Traders

Robinhood made several major announcements at its HOOD Summit in Houston. Among them were the addition of crypto perpetual futures, weekend stock trading, and AI agents that place trades. The platform's head of U.S. futures products stated that traders want leverage, but the company chose to start with smaller coins.

The crypto perpetual futures will offer up to 10x leverage on Bitcoin and ether contracts through Robinhood Derivatives and Bitstamp. Other assets will have a starting point of 3x leverage. Weekend stock trading will be available for a selection of stocks and ETFs, although it's worth noting that this feature was already available during weekdays in 2023.

The AI agents can be created within the app using OpenAI or Anthropic models, and will have their own trading accounts to research markets and place trades. A feature called Loops allows users to set standing instructions for the agent to act on its own when conditions are met. Over 150,000 agent accounts already exist after Robinhood opened its systems to outside AI earlier this year.

Additionally, users will be able to trade earnings contracts through Cboe, with the option to bet on whether a company hits a specific number such as revenue or earnings per share. Robinhood also announced its social trading app is now live within the main app, allowing users to sell stocks, buy crypto, and participate in prediction markets all in one place.