Analysis: Robinhood buys $25 million in Bitcoin to signal commitment to crypto

Robinhood added $25 million worth of Bitcoin (BTC) to its corporate balance sheet. Robinhood framed the purchase as a statement of commitment to crypto, not a bet on returns. Johann Kerbrat disclosed the purchase on Wednesday during a livestreamed interview broadcast on X. Kerbrat is Robinhood's senior vice president and general manager of crypto and international.

However, Shiv Verma, then Robinhood's incoming chief financial officer, questioned in November 2025 whether holding Bitcoin was the best use of company capital. Verma identified alignment with the crypto community as a benefit. Verma also cited competing uses of capital, including new products, growth and engineering investment. Verma said at the time that Robinhood would keep reviewing the advantages and disadvantages. Verma has since become CFO.

Kerbrat acknowledged that the stake was small. Kerbrat said the stake would do little to change the trajectory of a company valued near $100 billion. At Bitcoin's current price of $85,582, the purchase equals roughly 292 BTC. Robinhood has not disclosed the exact number of coins. The stake represents about 0.025% of Robinhood's market value.

Strategy's filing states that Strategy spent $28.7 million on 334 BTC between October 1 and 4. The purchase lifted Strategy's holdings to 848,000 BTC.

Robinhood's company results show cryptocurrency revenue fell 38% year-over-year to $100 million in the second quarter. However, total revenue rose 32% to a record $1.31 billion. Robinhood (HOOD) shares closed Tuesday at $112, down 1.85%. TipRanks reported that Robinhood shares extended losses in Wednesday's premarket session.

The Bitcoin purchase accompanies a broader expansion of Robinhood's on-chain business. Robinhood Chain, the company's layer-2 network built on Arbitrum technology, launched its public mainnet on July 1. DefiLlama puts the network's total value locked at $1,047 million. Total value locked measures the assets deposited in a network's applications. The network crossed $1 billion roughly 80 days after launch. Growth has since slowed, with total value locked remaining between $1 billion and $1.05 billion since late September.

Robinhood also plans perpetual futures for eligible US customers, with up to 10x leverage on BTC and ETH. Robinhood unveiled the planned futures last week alongside Robinhood's in-app AI agents. Unlike treasury firms that issue stock to keep buying coins, Robinhood is spending a small amount to signal loyalty to crypto. Robinhood's next quarterly filing should confirm the exact holdings and show whether further purchases follow.