Robinhood's cryptocurrency trading volume fell sharply in October, with customers trading $17 billion in digital assets across the company's platforms. The figure represented a 48% decline from October of the previous year, when crypto notional volume reached $32.5 billion, and a 21% drop from September.
The decline was distributed across Robinhood's platforms. The flagship Robinhood app saw volume fall to $6.8 billion, down 51% year-over-year, while Bitstamp, the crypto exchange Robinhood acquired in 2025, handled $10.2 billion, down 45% from the prior year. Average daily crypto volume across both platforms totaled $548 million, compared with $1.05 billion a year earlier.
Prediction Markets Show Opposite Trend
In contrast, Robinhood's prediction markets business accelerated significantly. Customers traded 5.9 billion event contracts in October, up 136% from 2.5 billion a year earlier and 5% from September. Average daily volume in prediction markets reached 190 million contracts. The growth coincided with the final weeks before the November midterm elections, as event contracts allow users to bet on outcomes including elections, sports, and economic data.
The divergence has attracted attention from lawmakers. Senator Elizabeth Warren, who is set to chair the Senate Banking Committee in January, has signaled plans to crack down on prediction markets and election betting platforms.
Broader Market Headwinds
The pullback in Robinhood's crypto activity aligns with a broader retreat by retail traders. Bitcoin declined from near $83,500 at the end of September to below $70,000 early in the following month. Institutional crypto demand has cooled as well, with U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds posting six consecutive days of net outflows, and spot bitcoin ETFs erasing their net inflows for the year.
Robinhood's other business segments showed more resilience. Equity notional volume rose 2% year-over-year to $325 billion, while options contracts climbed 8% to 289 million. Funded customers increased by approximately 130,000 to 28.9 million, and total platform assets reached $383 billion, up 12% from a year earlier.
Despite the crypto volume decline, Robinhood continued expanding its cryptocurrency operations, obtaining a license in Dubai in October to offer bitcoin and stock trading in the Middle East beginning in 2027.
