Robinhood Markets has launched cryptocurrency perpetual futures for US customers, offering up to 10x leverage on Bitcoin and Ethereum through its Derivatives platform and the infrastructure it acquired with Bitstamp. The rollout, effective September 29, covers eight no-expiry contracts and marks the company's most aggressive push into leveraged digital asset products in its home market.

The product lineup splits leverage into two tiers. Bitcoin and Ethereum perpetuals carry the maximum 10x leverage, meaning a trader can control a $10,000 position with $1,000 in margin. The remaining six contracts — Solana, XRP, Dogecoin, Cardano, Chainlink and HYPE — are capped at 3x leverage, a more conservative exposure profile for assets with higher volatility.

Robinhood has set a promotional trading fee of 0.01% through the end of 2026, well below prevailing crypto exchange rates and positioned to pull volume from established derivatives venues during the initial rollout.

The launch rests on two structural pillars. The first is Robinhood's acquisition of Bitstamp, which closed in June 2025 for approximately $200 million. That deal delivered a global exchange infrastructure with existing regulatory relationships and institutional-grade trading systems — assets Robinhood could not have built from scratch on a comparable timeline. The second is Robinhood Derivatives, which operates as a futures commission merchant registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and a member of the National Futures Association, allowing the broker to offer leveraged crypto products inside a US-compliant framework.

The US launch extends a playbook Robinhood already tested internationally. The company introduced crypto perpetual futures in the EU in April 2026, and the domestic rollout brings the same product set to the market where the majority of its user base resides.

The move fits a broader product expansion aimed at active traders. Robinhood has recently introduced AI trading agents and extended equity trading to weekend sessions, steadily assembling a full-service trading platform that bears little resemblance to the simplified stock-buying app it started as.

Leveraged perpetuals, however, carry a materially different risk profile than fractional share purchases. At 10x leverage, a 10% adverse price move liquidates an entire position, and liquidation on perpetual contracts can be both rapid and automatic. Robinhood's own disclosures acknowledge the elevated risk — a point of operational significance for a platform whose user base skews toward newer and less experienced investors. Customer support, margin mechanics education and liquidation handling will determine whether the product drives engagement or reputational damage.

For competitors, the pricing pressure is immediate. A 0.01% fee through 2026 undercuts most crypto derivatives venues and could force fee adjustments across the sector if Robinhood captures meaningful volume from retail traders who previously used offshore or specialized platforms for leveraged exposure.

The promotional fee window runs through the end of 2026, giving Robinhood roughly 15 months to convert subsidized volume into sticky market share before standard pricing takes effect.