Crypto investors are increasingly exploring beyond the top three cryptocurrencies as the market downturn continues, according to Robinhood’s head of crypto, Johann Kerbrat. I think what we see from our customers is that they actually see it as an opportunity, Kerbrat said in an exclusive interview, adding that they are seeing it as “an opportunity to buy the dip.” So we actually see a lot of customers continuing to trade crypto and diversifying, not just on the top two or three assets, but actually going pretty wide, he said, referring to Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). It signals that investors are potentially becoming more comfortable with crypto as an asset class, including its volatility and market swings.
Investors have a very clear view on Bitcoin and Ethereum. Not necessarily smaller-cap altcoins, or not necessarily into DeFi or yield products, Al Askari said, adding, it’s baby steps. I don’t think it’s impossible to see large investment managers and funds build specific teams around strategies that do different things along the risk curve, and so I do think that’s very possible, Al Askari said. Kerbrat said he’s also seeing more crypto holders on the platform not just holding their tokens, but actively using them.
Kerbrat said staking has gained very strong traction since Robinhood rolled out the feature in December, and that more crypto holders are now exploring decentralized finance (DeFi) despite the market uncertainty. It’s been pretty fun to see, to be honest. It’s always surprising, Kerbrat said. It comes as overall crypto sentiment has weakened, with the Crypto Fear & Greed Index remaining in Extreme Fear since the start of February. Meanwhile, US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have posted five consecutive weeks of net outflows, with investors pulling roughly $3.8 billion from the products over the period.
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