Robinhood's crypto line grew 20% last quarter — all of it from the new chain

Robinhood reported third-quarter results on Tuesday showing crypto revenue of $120 million, up 20% from the second quarter. Read one layer down, that growth has a single source: Robinhood Chain, the company's own layer-2 blockchain, which booked $26 million in its first quarter on mainnet. Strip that out and the rest of the crypto business went backward.

Here is the arithmetic the headline number compresses. The Block reported that, excluding Robinhood Chain, crypto transaction revenue fell 6% from the second quarter to $94 million. Add the chain's $26 million and you reach $120 million — so the "20% growth" is the chain, not a recovery in trading. Against a year ago, the picture is starker: CoinDesk put crypto transaction revenue down 55% from roughly $267 million in the same period of 2025, when markets were near bull-cycle highs. Crypto now accounts for 8.4% of Robinhood's total revenue, per CoinDesk, down from about 21% a year earlier.

Trading volumes tell the same two-speed story. The Block reported crypto trading volume rose 23% from the prior quarter to $49.8 billion; CoinDesk, measuring year-over-year, reported essentially the same ~$50 billion total but down 38% from a year ago. Both outlets broke it the same way, within rounding: roughly $20.6–21 billion through the Robinhood app itself and about $29.2–29 billion through Bitstamp, the exchange Robinhood acquired last year. CoinDesk added the year-over-year detail that app volume fell 48% and Bitstamp volume fell 28%. So volumes bounced off the prior quarter but remain well below 2025 levels — and the app side is shrinking faster than Bitstamp.

Robinhood Chain. Launched on mainnet July 1 and built on Arbitrum, the chain processed more than $80 billion in decentralized-exchange volume and generated more than $50 million in chain fees during the quarter, according to figures Robinhood disclosed. The $26 million attributed to the chain is the piece that shows up in crypto revenue. CoinDesk flagged an important caveat that the company left open: those $50 million-plus in chain fees "should not be confused with Robinhood's reported crypto transaction revenue," and Robinhood did not disclose how much of the fees it recognized as revenue. In other words, there is a $50 million fee figure and a $26 million revenue figure, and the company did not reconcile them publicly.

Prediction markets, again, beat crypto. Event contracts generated $173 million, up 11% from the prior quarter and more than six times the year-earlier figure, per both The Block and CoinDesk — comfortably ahead of crypto's $120 million. The Block noted $28 million of that came from Rothera, Robinhood's joint exchange with Susquehanna.

The rest of the business carried the quarter. Total net revenue rose 12% year over year to a record $1.42 billion, with options revenue up 31% to $399 million and equities up 41% to $121 million (CoinDesk). But record revenue still came in light against Street estimates of about $1.43 billion, EPS of $0.51 missed the $0.55 consensus (CoinDesk), and net income fell 14% to $476 million (The Block). Shares dropped after hours — The Block reported a 5.5% decline to $89.22, leaving the stock down roughly 22% year to date; CoinDesk reported a drop of about 5% in post-market trading.

Separately, Robinhood said it is adding Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin, which Ripple said went live Tuesday on Robinhood Chain and on Bitstamp, with the main Robinhood app expected later this year (Decrypt, citing Ripple's announcement). CoinDesk noted the wrinkle that Robinhood is adopting RLUSD "despite backing rival USDG."

Key facts

• Crypto transaction revenue: $120 million, up 20% QoQ but down 55% YoY from ~$267 million; ahead of Street's $114.1 million (The Block; CoinDesk).
• Crypto revenue excluding Robinhood Chain: $94 million, down 6% from the prior quarter (The Block).
• Robinhood Chain: $26 million in revenue, first quarter on mainnet after a July 1 launch; >$80 billion DEX volume and >$50 million in chain fees; amount of fees recognized as revenue not disclosed (The Block; CoinDesk).
• Crypto trading volume: ~$50 billion — up 23% QoQ (The Block) / down 38% YoY (CoinDesk); ~$21B app (down 48% YoY), ~$29B Bitstamp (down 28% YoY).
• Crypto as a share of total revenue: 8.4%, down from ~21% a year earlier (CoinDesk).
• Prediction markets: $173 million, up 11% QoQ, >6x YoY; includes $28M from Rothera, its Susquehanna JV (The Block; CoinDesk).
• Total net revenue: $1.42 billion (record, +12% YoY) but below the ~$1.43B estimate; EPS $0.51 vs $0.55 expected; net income $476 million, down 14% (The Block; CoinDesk).
• Options $399M (+31%), equities $121M (+41%) (CoinDesk).
• Shares fell ~5–5.5% after hours; down ~22% YTD (The Block; CoinDesk).
• RLUSD (Ripple's stablecoin) live on Robinhood Chain and Bitstamp; main app "later this year" (Decrypt, per Ripple's announcement).

The real-world read

The framing to watch is the "20% growth." It is real, but it is entirely the new in-house chain; the business of customers actually trading crypto on Robinhood and Bitstamp shrank 6% quarter over quarter and is down 55% year over year. A company-built layer-2 that launched July 1 is the only reason the crypto line rose at all.

The chain's own numbers deserve the same scrutiny. The $80 billion in DEX volume and $50 million-plus in fees are figures Robinhood is promoting about its own network — an interested party describing its own product — and CoinDesk was explicit that Robinhood did not say how much of those fees it actually booked as revenue. The gap between ">$50 million in fees" and "$26 million in revenue" is unexplained. Gross on-chain volume is easy to make look large and is not the same as money the company keeps; treat the $80 billion as activity, not earnings.

Note also what has quietly happened to Robinhood's pitch. Crypto was once the growth story; it is now 8.4% of revenue, outearned by prediction markets ($173 million) that barely existed a year ago. The quarter's strength came from options and equities, not digital assets. And despite record revenue, the result missed on the top line, on EPS and on net income — which is why the stock fell on a "record" quarter.

On RLUSD: the details come from Ripple's own announcement, so the "live today, main app later this year" timing is the vendor's framing, not an independent confirmation. The more telling point is the one CoinDesk flagged — Robinhood is listing Ripple's RLUSD while separately backing a competing stablecoin, USDG. The sources don't reconcile how both commitments coexist, and neither company has explained it.

Opinion, and whose

• That $120 million "topped Street forecasts" of $114.1 million is CoinDesk's characterization of analyst expectations; the beat on crypto sat alongside misses on overall revenue, EPS and net income.
• Robinhood's own disclosures cast Robinhood Chain as a success via the $80 billion volume and $50 million fee figures — a self-interested presentation that the reported $26 million revenue contribution does not obviously match.
• The claim that RLUSD will reach the main Robinhood app "later this year" is Ripple's projection, per Decrypt, not a committed date from Robinhood. No forecast here should be read as advice.

Sources

• The Block (Tier 2, secondary), "Robinhood Chain brings in $26 million as crypto revenue rises 20% in Q3," Oct 27, 2026 — crypto revenue and the ex-chain $94M breakdown, QoQ volume growth, Robinhood Chain metrics, prediction-markets detail including Rothera, net income, and the after-hours price/$89.22/YTD figures.
• CoinDesk (Tier 2, secondary), "Robinhood's crypto revenue fell 55% from last year, but topped Street forecasts," Oct 27, 2026 — the year-over-year declines, crypto's 8.4% revenue share, Street estimates and EPS/revenue misses, options and equities figures, the caveat on chain fees vs. recognized revenue, and the USDG/RLUSD note.
• Decrypt (Tier 2, secondary), "Robinhood Misses Q3 Earnings as Crypto Revenue Rises and Prediction Market Bets Grow," Oct 27, 2026 — the 28.6 million funded-customer figure and RLUSD launch details; the RLUSD specifics are drawn from Ripple's own announcement, an interested party, and are attributed as such.

This is news coverage, not investment advice; do your own research before making any financial decision.