Robinhood Chain Activity Slides as Daily Transactions Drop 42%

Robinhood’s blockchain is seeing a broad slowdown. Daily transactions averaged 6.2 million between Oct. 2 and Oct. 8, compared with 10.8 million in mid-September, a fall of 42%. That also marks a 20% decline from the week before.

Daily active addresses dropped 31% to about 322,000, although the real fall in users is probably smaller, since one trader can run many addresses and a single bot can generate thousands of transactions. The chain launched in July to support token trading, borrowing and lending through Ethereum connected apps, with plans for round-the-clock trading of tokens tied to stocks and funds.

Falling Network Fees and Revenue Pressure

Network fees now average about $65,000 a day, down 39% week over week and far below the $8 million collected on the busiest day in early September. Robinhood reportedly keeps roughly 90% of network fees, according to a Bernstein note last month, so lower activity directly cuts its income. A fee collapse of 97% was reported in mid-September, when transactions were still strong. Now both trading and transaction counts have turned lower.

Spot Trading Cools While Deposits Hold Steady

Spot exchange volume reached $7.45 billion in the same period, down 21% from $9.46 billion a week earlier, with Uniswap handling about 77% of it. Money is not leaving, though. Deposits in lending and trading apps rose roughly 2% to $1.04 billion, and stablecoin supply edged up to about $1.10 billion. Funds appear to be sitting idle rather than exiting. Perpetual futures are the exception, with seven-day volume near $7.35 billion, up 26%.

Fee Promotion Extended to Dec. 31

To revive activity, Arcus began offering extra reward points on Oct. 1 for stock-token swaps made through Robinhood Wallet. Robinhood also delayed the end of its fee promotion, originally due Sept. 29. It will now cover network fees on any wallet swap above 50 cents until Dec. 31, giving the chain under three months to get its $1 billion in deposits trading again.