BLOCKCHAIN
BLOCKCHAIN
BLOCKCHAIN
Robinhood launches crypto trading in NY as bitcoin price roller coaster continues
Online stockbroker Robinhood Financial LLC officially launched its zero-fee cryptocurrency exchange service Thursday in New York at a time when bitcoin’s price continues to experience a roller coaster ride.
The service launched in January 2018 with support for bitcoin and Etherum for users in a small number of states, with today’s announcement coming as an expansion into the Empire State. Support in New York brings the number of states now supported by the service to 39.
As CoinDesk noted, New York has been problematic for cryptocurrency exchanges because of the requirement to obtain a BitLicense. Launched in 2015, the Bitlicense has often been controversial in the bitcoin community because of its strict regulations relating to anti-money-laundering, anti-fraud and cybersecurity policies.
After initial pushback, it has slowly been adopted by companies wanting to trade cryptocurrencies in the state. Robinhood obtained a BitLicense in January, the 17th company to do so.
At launch, New York customers will have access to zero-fee trading in bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin SV, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, Litecoin and Dogecoin.
The news comes as the price of bitcoin continues on a perpetual roller coaster. The cryptocurrency entered the week having suffered a 21% price drop at the weekend before recovering again, sitting at $7,940.11 at 10:50 p.m. EDT Sunday, May 19.
During the week, bitcoin peaked at $8221.26 May 20 before dropping to a low of $7,589.65 earlier today before recovering to $7,848.44 as of 10 p.m. EDT.
The price volatility has the cryptocurrency press completely confused. As bitcoin heads down, headlines emerge suggesting a bear market or even a crash. Then as bitcoin’s price rises, there’s talk of a bull run that may see bitcoin surge through $10,000. One report claimed bitcoin’s price is forming a symmetrical triangle, a pattern that allegedly proves price growth ahead.
Whatever the reason for the volatility, it has been a wild ride, one that shouldn’t be flippantly dismissed either. A 1% move in bitcoin’s price, based on its current market cap, is a move of $1.39 billion in value.
Photo: Robinhood
A message from John Furrier, co-founder of SiliconANGLE:
Support our mission to keep content open and free by engaging with theCUBE community. Join theCUBE’s Alumni Trust Network, where technology leaders connect, share intelligence and create opportunities.
- 15M+ viewers of theCUBE videos, powering conversations across AI, cloud, cybersecurity and more
- 11.4k+ theCUBE alumni — Connect with more than 11,400 tech and business leaders shaping the future through a unique trusted-based network.
About SiliconANGLE Media
SiliconANGLE Media is a recognized leader in digital media innovation, uniting breakthrough technology, strategic insights and real-time audience engagement. As the parent company of SiliconANGLE, theCUBE Network, theCUBE Research, CUBE365, theCUBE AI and theCUBE SuperStudios — with flagship locations in Silicon Valley and the New York Stock Exchange — SiliconANGLE Media operates at the intersection of media, technology and AI.
Founded by tech visionaries John Furrier and Dave Vellante, SiliconANGLE Media has built a dynamic ecosystem of industry-leading digital media brands that reach 15+ million elite tech professionals. Our new proprietary theCUBE AI Video Cloud is breaking ground in audience interaction, leveraging theCUBEai.com neural network to help technology companies make data-driven decisions and stay at the forefront of industry conversations.
