The Robinhood Chain has experienced a notable decline in daily transactions, plummeting over 40% since mid-September, while the brokerage continues to absorb network fees on customer token swaps.
Transaction Volume Decline
From October 2 to October 8, the network averaged 6.2 million transactions daily, a 42% drop from 10.8 million between September 10 and September 16, according to data analyzed by CoinDesk.
This decline reflects a 20% decrease in activity compared to the previous week. Despite the downturn in transactions, Robinhood has committed to covering network fees for token swaps exceeding 50 cents until the end of the year.
Trading Activity and User Engagement
During the same period, the trading volume on spot exchanges fell by 21% to $7.45 billion. However, deposits in the lending and trading apps rose slightly to $1.04 billion, indicating that while trading activity has decreased, users are not withdrawing their funds.
Daily active addresses also dropped by 31% to around 322,000, suggesting a decline in user engagement. This reduction may not fully reflect the number of individual users, as one trader can operate multiple addresses.
Futures Trading and Promotions
In contrast, perpetual futures trading saw a 26% increase, reaching approximately $7.35 billion during the same week. Users paid around $65,000 daily in network fees, a significant decrease from the $8 million collected on peak days in early September.
To stimulate trading activity, Robinhood and its partners have introduced incentives, such as additional reward points for stock-token swaps through the Robinhood Wallet. The platform's initiative to cover network fees until December 31 aims to revive trading before users are required to pay these fees themselves.