Robinhood's Q3 crypto trading volumes increase to $14.4 billion, more than double from last year

Robinhood (ticker HOOD), the commission-free brokerage firm, reported third-quarter earnings Wednesday afternoon, which showed retail traders continued appetite for crypto although trading volume has slowed throughout the year.Crypto trading volumes grew 112% year-over-year to $14.4 billion, while equity trading volumes rose 65% to $286.2 billion. However, crypto trading volume has dropped from $21.5 billion in the second quarter and $36 billion in the first quarter of this year.Robinhood's transaction-based revenues increased 72% from last year to $319 million, with cryptocurrency trading bringing in $61 million (up 165%), options trading earning $202 million (up 63%), and equities generating $37 million (up 37%). Despite the gains, crypto revenue declined from $81 million in the previous quarter.The company's Assets Under Custody (AUC) rose 76% year-over-year to $152.2 billion, driven by ongoing net deposits and increased valuations of stocks and cryptocurrencies. AUC includes the total value of all equities, options, cryptocurrencies and cash held in user accounts, minus any receivables owed by users.“Q3 was another strong quarter, as we drove 36% year-over-year revenue growth, and dropped most of that to the bottom line,” said CFO Jason Warnick. “We entered 2024 with the goal of delivering another year of profitable growth, so we're excited to have already broken prior full year records for both revenue and EPS.”Earlier this month, Robinhood confirmed it will expand its bitcoin and ether support to futures products amid a broader rollout of advanced trading tools for the platform. And just this week, the company introduced event contracts allowing users to bet on the outcome of the U.S. presidential election.