Robinhood Chain Activity Slumps as Transactions Drop More Than 40%

Robinhood Chain’s daily transaction count has fallen from 10.8 million to 6.2 million since mid-September, despite the brokerage continuing to cover network fees on customer swaps.

Activity on Robinhood’s blockchain is experiencing a significant slowdown, although more than $1 billion remains deposited across applications on the network. The brokerage is also continuing to pay certain transaction fees on behalf of its customers.

According to CoinDesk calculations based on growthepie data, the network averaged 6.2 million transactions per day between Oct. 2 and Oct. 8. That represents a 42% decline from the 10.8 million daily average recorded between Sept. 10 and Sept. 16. Transactions also dropped 20% compared with the previous week.

Robinhood introduced the blockchain in July to enable users to trade tokens, borrow funds and lend through applications linked to Ethereum. The company also plans to support around-the-clock trading of tokens representing stocks and investment funds.

Each transaction incurs a network fee, while applications operating on the blockchain charge additional fees for activities such as trading and lending. A Bernstein report published last month estimated that Robinhood retains approximately 90% of network fees, meaning a reduction in transaction activity could lower the company’s fee revenue.

The slowdown represents a shift from September. When CoinDesk reported on Sept. 19 that network fees had plunged 97%, transaction volumes remained close to their peaks and weekly trading activity was still increasing. Both indicators have since started declining.

The number of active blockchain addresses has also decreased. The network averaged approximately 322,000 active addresses per day during the latest week, down 31% from mid-September. Although this points to reduced activity, it does not necessarily indicate that the number of users has fallen by the same percentage. Individuals can control multiple addresses, while automated trading systems can generate thousands of transactions.

Trading declines while deposits remain stable

Spot exchanges, which allow users to buy and sell tokens directly, recorded $7.45 billion in trading volume between Oct. 2 and Oct. 8, according to CoinDesk calculations using DefiLlama data. That was 21% below the $9.46 billion recorded during the previous week. Uniswap, a decentralized platform that enables users to exchange tokens directly with one another, accounted for approximately 77% of the total.

However, falling trading volumes have not translated into a significant withdrawal of funds from the network.

Deposits across Robinhood Chain’s lending and trading applications increased by roughly 2% over the week to $1.04 billion. Meanwhile, the total supply of stablecoins, which are cryptocurrencies designed to maintain a peg to the U.S. dollar, edged higher to approximately $1.10 billion.

These figures suggest that users are keeping their capital on Robinhood Chain but trading it less frequently, potentially waiting for market conditions or other incentives to improve.

One segment continues to expand: perpetual futures trading. These contracts allow investors to speculate on price movements without owning the underlying assets.

DefiLlama’s rolling seven-day data showed that perpetual futures trading volume reached approximately $7.35 billion as of Friday, marking a 26% increase.

Network fees have moved in the opposite direction. Users paid around $65,000 per day in fees between Oct. 2 and Oct. 8, a 39% decrease from the previous week. That amount is far below the roughly $8 million collected by the blockchain on its busiest day in early September.

Robinhood and its partners have introduced incentives in an effort to sustain trading activity.

On Oct. 1, trading platform Arcus began offering additional reward points for stock-token swaps conducted through Robinhood Wallet. Robinhood also extended its fee promotion after the original Sept. 29 expiration date.

Under the revised offer, Robinhood will cover network fees for swaps worth more than 50 cents made through its wallet until Dec. 31. The promotion gives the blockchain less than three months to revive trading activity around its $1 billion in deposits before customers must begin covering those transaction costs themselves.

The key question will emerge when the promotion ends: whether customers will continue trading at similar levels once they are responsible for paying network fees out of their own pockets.

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