Robinhood has added memecoins Pengu (PENGU), Pnut (PNUT), and Popcat (POPCAT) to its platform, reinforcing its commitment to cryptocurrency trading, as announced on March 13.
These new listings represent the latest move by Robinhood to broaden its crypto portfolio and compete against established exchanges like Coinbase. Trading in memecoins has become an essential arena as competing exchanges — including Coinbase and Binance.US — ramp up their offerings following the election victory of US President Donald Trump in November.
The image below illustrates Robinhood’s recent memecoin additions.
Image Caption: Robinhood has introduced new memecoins.
In light of customer feedback, Robinhood Crypto reported a significant desire for expanded memecoin trading options in February. Alongside the newly listed coins, Robinhood also offers Dogecoin (DOGE), the leading memecoin by market cap, and recently launched crypto futures trading.
Johann Kerbrat, the Vice President and General Manager of Robinhood Crypto, indicated that the company is keen to respond to customer requests while ensuring safe trading practices.
Best known for its stock trading services, Robinhood has been making significant investments in cryptocurrency products over the past year. In February, the online brokerage noted an astounding 700% increase in crypto-related revenues year-over-year. The market’s upward trend, spurred by Trump’s election and rising asset prices, contributed to a general surge in crypto trading during the last quarter of 2024.
In a notable regulatory shift, Trump, who aims to establish America as the “world’s crypto capital,” has appointed pro-industry leaders to key positions. In February, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ruled that the majority of memecoins do not qualify as securities, thus exempting them from regulatory oversight. This marked a significant change from the previous administration’s stance, wherein former SEC Chair Gary Gensler maintained that most cryptocurrencies were securities. The SEC also chose not to pursue enforcement actions against Robinhood for purported securities law infringements related to its crypto trading platform.