Robinhood (NASDAQ:HOOD) CEO Vlad Tenev on Tuesday expressed surprise at how resilient retail investors remained during the recent Middle East tensions.
What Happened: In a CNBC Squawk Box interview , Tenev stated that despite a weekend of escalating geopolitical risk, Robinhood’s platform saw no major shifts in retail trading behavior.
"A year or two ago, an event like this would've caused big overnight moves. Now, it's barely a blip," Tenev said.
Retail traders continued their aggressive bets on high-growth sectors like AI, notably Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) and Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), crypto, and fintech, echoing trends from earlier months.
According to Tenev, Robinhood's 26 million U.S. users are still showing strong activity, with trading volumes remaining high and little impact from geopolitical headlines.
Robinhood has also expanded into prediction markets, debuting with U.S. presidential election markets last year and recently adding economic and sports bets through new partnerships.
Tenev sees Robinhood's edge as offering retail-scale access to emerging markets: "We're just giving our massive user base what they want: early access to new and interesting markets," he said.
Also Read: Bitcoin Dominance Tops 65% But ‘Altcoin Season’ Is Close, Trader Says
Why It Matters: Tenev reiterated that regulatory clarity is the biggest missing ingredient for U.S. crypto innovation.
He pointed to pending legislation that would allow crypto exchanges to register under the CFTC, rather than being scrutinized by the SEC.
"All the high-potential crypto innovation has been pushed overseas. It's rare that America lags in frontier innovation—but here we are," he said. "Europe is ahead of the U.S. right now."
Robinhood is preparing to host its first major international crypto event in southern France, a move aimed at tapping into Europe's more favourable regulatory environment.
Looking forward, Tenev envisions crypto technology becoming the infrastructure for all financial services, not just crypto-specific assets.
"Eventually, crypto rails will support everything, from stock trading to traditional finance," he predicted.
Robinhood's stock currently trades near $82, with a market cap around $72.4 billion. Tenev remains optimistic about long-term growth, citing tailwinds from AI, policy shifts, and increasing retail sophistication.
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