Author: Chloe, ChainCatcher
The day before yesterday, Robinhood released its Q3 2025 financial report, which, like the report released a few days earlier by Coinbase, exceeded market expectations. Looking at the financial reports of both companies, it is evident that they interpret completely different business logics, with the only similarity being that both Robinhood and Coinbase aim to become game changers in the crypto market as it gradually integrates into the mainstream financial system. This is not just a competition in trading volume and financial report numbers, but a showdown over who can reshape the rules of financial trading in the coming years.
Robinhood's cryptocurrency trading revenue grew by 339% year-on-year to $268 million, with crypto trading volume reaching $80 billion, driving overall revenue up to $1.27 billion, significantly surpassing market expectations. The new businesses that were previously actively expanded, including prediction markets and the acquisition of Bitstamp exchange, both now have annualized revenues exceeding $100 million.
Coinbase reported total revenue of $1.9 billion, a 58% year-on-year increase, with a net profit of $433 million. In addition to trading revenue exceeding $1 billion, overall trading volume reached $295 billion, with retail trading volume increasing by 37% quarter-on-quarter.
Moreover, both institutional and retail trading businesses achieved growth, with the former's revenue rising to $135 million, of which the Deribit acquisition contributed approximately $52 million; retail trading revenue was $844 million, with USDC earnings reaching $355 million, and the average USDC balance on the platform exceeding $15 billion.
Changing Landscape of the Financial Retail Market
According to the DECADEX report, the U.S. financial retail market is currently undergoing a transformation in terms of technology architecture, user structure, and asset categories, moving towards "on-chain" and "integration." The backend technology is shifting from private ledgers to public ledgers, symbolizing that traditional financial infrastructure is beginning to align with blockchain logic; the frontend is experiencing generational change, with a new generation of young investors becoming the main force, and user habits becoming more digital and instantaneous; the asset forms in the middle layer are also being restructured, with blockchain-native assets, stock tokenization, and crypto ETFs gradually merging, indicating that the ultimate financial entry point will concentrate on a few "super applications" with integration capabilities.
In the past three years, Robinhood's retail revenue has grown fivefold, despite trading volumes being similar to three years ago. This shift stems from its adjustment in fee strategy, moving from attracting users with low fees to gradually enhancing the fee structure and optimizing the product line, thereby escaping the early dilemma of "providing free trading to investors equals zero profit."
In contrast, Coinbase's retail business has seen its trading fees continuously decline, making its revenue highly dependent on market trading enthusiasm, lacking long-term stability. As blockchain assets enter ETFs and mainstream investment channels, the lines between Coinbase and traditional financial platforms are becoming increasingly blurred. The market generally expects that the two will eventually converge in strategy and product offerings, with Robinhood becoming more crypto-focused and Coinbase moving towards traditional securitization.
Additionally, the rise of ETFs is also a significant factor in changing the retail market landscape. Currently, U.S. ETF spot trading volume accounts for about half of the entire market, with trading activity surpassing that of the second-largest exchange in the U.S. DECADEX analysis indicates that if this trend continues, ETFs may become the largest trading channel in the U.S. within one to two years, consuming the market share of spot exchanges.
As market share is gradually being eroded, both Coinbase and Robinhood are preparing to occupy the "trading entry" through technology and product integration.
Currently, the integration of trading channels in the financial market makes trading in a single asset class increasingly less important, as retail investors prefer to trade multiple asset classes through a single platform. This is also the core motivation for Robinhood and Coinbase to build a comprehensive trading ecosystem covering stocks, cryptocurrencies, derivatives, RWA, and other assets in response to market changes.
Recently, Coinbase's Coinbase National Trust Company (CNTC) submitted an application for a national trust license to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), planning to provide digital asset custody, customer fiat fund custody, financing, and trading services through CNTC, aiming to place trust business within a federal licensing framework to expand traditional financial reach.
Robinhood is integrating more assets through the acquisition of Bitstamp and the launch of Robinhood Chain, which reflects different manifestations of market structure adjustments, all pointing towards the trends of "on-chain" and "integration" and the future of "super applications."
Now, for similar considerations, both Coinbase and Robinhood are strategically laying out RWA.
Coinbase and Robinhood Both Target Tokenized Stocks
The U.S. and European markets are witnessing both exchanges betting on the RWA ecosystem at their own pace. Earlier this year, Robinhood announced that EU users could trade tokenized versions of over 200 U.S. stocks and ETFs, from Apple to Nvidia, and even plans to involve unlisted companies like OpenAI and SpaceX. All tokens are issued on the Arbitrum blockchain, providing a "24/7, commission-free" trading experience, which the market views as a pioneer in the RWA battlefield.
However, OpenAI quickly issued a statement to clarify that these tokens are not their equity and are unrelated to them. European regulators were the first to require Robinhood to clarify the product structure, and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) publicly warned in early September that while tokenized stocks can offer flexibility and low barriers, if investors mistakenly believe they are buying real equity, the risks could be severe, directly pointing out that the RWA area is still not clearly defined.
On the other hand, Robinhood has also submitted a 42-page proposal to the SEC, suggesting the establishment of a federal-level RWA tokenization framework to modernize the U.S. securities market.
Coinbase is also targeting tokenized stocks.
According to CoinGeek, Coinbase's Everything Exchange is a comprehensive trading platform that encompasses traditional finance and crypto assets. In addition to its existing cryptocurrency business, Coinbase plans to launch tokenized stocks (also pending regulatory approval), tokenization of physical assets, perpetual futures, 24/7 trading of BTC and ETH contracts, and prediction markets.
Unlike Robinhood, Coinbase's RWA development path focuses on stablecoins and infrastructure, with its own L2 network Base, which has integrated over 40,000 token trades, and through vertical integration of Base, USDC stablecoin, and payment APIs, is building a complete ecosystem. According to the latest news, Coinbase will hold a product launch event on December 17 to showcase the next phase of the Everything Exchange.
Additionally, it is currently in the late stages of negotiating the acquisition of stablecoin infrastructure startup BVNK, which comes at a crucial time for Coinbase's stablecoin business.
Robinhood Aims to Build a Super Application, Coinbase Focuses on Infrastructure
Essentially, Robinhood and Coinbase represent two distinctly different financial entities and development paths. As a traditional financial company, Robinhood's ultimate goal is to create a financial super application for various retail investors, integrating stocks, cryptocurrencies, prediction markets, and banking services into one platform, allowing users to complete all financial scenarios without leaving Robinhood.
As ETFs divert demand from spot trading, Robinhood is gradually closing in on the retail end, forcing Coinbase to accelerate its transformation. Whether through L2, stablecoin payment networks, custody services, or acquisitions like BVNK, it is evident that Coinbase's ambition is no longer just to build a trading platform; it aims to become the infrastructure provider for the entire financial architecture.
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