Weekend Trading Revolution: Coinbase, Robinhood, and HSBC Lead the Charge

The weekend is no longer a pause button for traders. The shift towards longer market hours is underway, with companies like Coinbase, Robinhood, and HSBC pushing the boundaries of trading access, clearing, and digital money.

Over the past few weeks, these companies have made significant strides in extending trading hours. Coinbase has won approval for its own clearing house, built around the USDC stablecoin, which can run around the clock. Robinhood plans to let customers trade selected US stocks every day of the week, including weekends. HSBC has given its upcoming Hong Kong dollar stablecoin a name: RedCoin.

The push towards longer market hours is taking different forms. In the US, brokers and crypto platforms are extending access to trading and clearing. In Hong Kong, HSBC is building the payments infrastructure around it. RedCoin is a payments product, not a trading one, and it will compete on local payments first rather than global trading.

However, there are challenges ahead. The bigger challenge is liquidity: getting enough buyers and sellers to show up on a Sunday for weekend prices to be as dependable as weekday ones. Retail traders have shown they want longer hours, but a weekend market also needs enough buyers and sellers on the other side, including market makers and larger investors that help keep prices orderly.