Robinhood Markets Inc is testing a new cryptowallet and cryptocurrency transfer features for its app, a long-awaited move that will make it easier for customers to send and receive digital currencies like bitcoin.
Evidence of the company’s work on such features has appeared in a beta version of its iPhone app. The software includes a hidden image portraying a waitlist page for users signing up for a cryptowallet feature. The app also has code referring to cryptocurrency transfers.
With cryptowallets, consumers can use virtual currencies without having to convert them to fiat money. They also provide a single place for customers to store all of their virtual currencies, protected by a private key.
While it is already possible for Robinhood customers to buy and sell popular cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin, ethereum and dogecoin, this would be the first time they can manage all of their cryptoholdings through a wallet in the app.
Other companies, including Coinbase Global Inc and Gemini Trust Co, already offer cryptowallets of their own.
Robinhood chief executive officer Vlad Tenev has said that adding cryptowallets is a priority for the company’s developers.
“It’s something that our teams are working on,” he said on a call following the company’s second-quarter earnings release, adding that the feature is in particular demand among dogecoin enthusiasts.
“The ability to deposit and withdraw cryptocurrencies is tricky to do with scale, and we want to make sure it’s done correctly and properly,” he said.
He did not disclose when such a launch would occur, but the support and testing in its app suggests a debut could be getting closer.
Lavinia Chirico, a spokeswoman for Menlo Park, California-based Robinhood, declined to comment.
Robinhood customers would also have the ability to set up two-factor authentication to use the feature.
The planned offerings were discovered by software developer Steve Moser.
Virtual currency trading fueled Robinhood’s growth in the most recently reported quarter, making up about 41 percent of its net revenue during the period. Of the approximately US$233 million in revenue it brought in from cryptocurrency trades, about 62 percent came from dogecoin transactions alone, underscoring the important role digital currency trading has played for the newly public company.
The new cryptofeatures are being tested as part of an “alpha program,” according to information within the code. Users will need to activate crypto sending and receiving, and the enrollment page will require an identity check.
“Complete the steps to start sending and receiving crypto,” a message reads.
Code hidden in beta versions of the Robinhood app has previously been a harbinger of new features. In July, Bloomberg News reported on code that indicated the company was working on price volatility protection and recurring orders for crypto purchases. Robinhood launched those features last week.
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