Robinhood shares rise 5.37% as Bitcoin rally and SEC exemption support

Robinhood Markets shares were trading 5.37% higher at $126.26 on Monday, according to Benzinga Pro data. Bitcoin climbed to about $85,000, its highest level since January, and rose more than 5% over the previous 24 hours. The cryptocurrency's gains lifted crypto-linked equities broadly, including Robinhood, Strategy, Coinbase and MARA Holdings, according to CoinDesk. Robinhood receives a meaningful share of its revenue from cryptocurrency trading, including customers' purchases and sales of Bitcoin and other digital assets through its platform. Higher crypto prices tend to coincide with greater trading activity and investor enthusiasm for the stock, although Robinhood's second-quarter crypto revenue declined 38% year over year to $100 million as other segments grew. About $300 million of approximately $313 million in crypto positions liquidated during the previous hour belonged to short sellers, according to CoinGlass data. Robinhood's gains were also linked to the SEC's new Innovation Exemption, which was announced last week. The exemption allows qualifying trading venues to offer tokenized versions of U.S. stocks without registering as traditional stock exchanges for five years. Robinhood has been expanding into tokenized assets, and investors viewed the development as a potentially significant tailwind for that effort. Robinhood, Kraken and other crypto exchanges already offer tokenized stocks in overseas markets. The SEC announcement came days after the U.S. Senate failed to advance the broader CLARITY Act, leaving the crypto industry without the comprehensive market structure legislation it had sought.