Robinhood is targeting experienced traders with Bitcoin Futures, its new desktop platform

Robinhood is expanding its reach in the futures market by adding Bitcoin and Ethereum alongside oil and the S&P 500 index as part of its broader strategy to attract experienced traders.

A Robinhood spokesperson said Decipher On Wednesday, its futures offerings via its trading app are expected in the “coming months.”

Offerings will include Bitcoin contracts, micro Bitcoin futures, Bitcoin Friday futures, Ethereum futures and micro Ethereum futures, the spokesperson said.

Micro-futures are smaller contracts designed to make futures trading more accessible to retail and retail investors.

The announcement came during Robinhood's first-ever customer conference, the HOOD Summit, where the company unveiled its new desktop platform, Robinhood Legend.

The platform is specifically designed for active traders and aims to offer sophisticated tools and real-time data, including the ability to trade futures and index options directly from the app.

Robinhood is focusing on derivatives to compete with established players like Charles Schwab and Morgan Stanley's E*TRADE, which already offer crypto futures.

This comes at a time when the crypto market continues to heat up and the price of Bitcoin is nearing its all-time high of nearly $73,700.

“With some of the lowest fees in the industry and a sleek mobile interface, there will be no reason to trade futures anywhere else,” JB Mackenzie, Robinhood’s vice president and general manager of futures and international, said in a statement.

Gold subscribers can trade futures for as little as $0.50 per contract, while non-Gold users pay $0.75, undercutting the costs of traditional brokers.

This move is expected to further increase interest from cryptocurrency traders looking for more sophisticated exposure to assets like Bitcoin.

Robinhood Legend, meanwhile, offers advanced charting tools, customizable layouts, and real-time data.

“Through conversations with active traders, we have discovered that there is frustration with old offerings,” Steve Quirk, chief brokerage officer at Robinhood, said in the statement.

“Switching back and forth between apps or charting platforms can be cumbersome and time-consuming. “We are on a mission to redefine what a modern, intuitively designed active trading platform should look like,” he added.

The platform will continue to support futures and index options trading as it continues to roll out through 2024.