Robinhood teams up with Arbitrum to revolutionize Web3 wallet swaps

Robinhood, a popular trading platform, has recently collaborated with Arbitrum, a Layer 2 scaling solution for Ethereum, to enhance its Web3 Wallet functionality. This partnership aims to optimize swaps on the Web3 Wallet by leveraging Arbitrum’s technology. This collaboration enables Robinhood Wallet users to access swaps directly on the Arbitrum protocol, enhancing efficiency and reducing costs associated with Layer 1 Ethereum transactions. 

The integration of Arbitrum into Robinhood’s Web3 Wallet marks a significant step towards improving the user experience and expanding accessibility to decentralized finance (DeFi) services. Robinhood’s embrace of Layer 2 solutions reflects a commitment to staying at the forefront of innovation in the rapidly evolving crypto landscape.

Robinhood’s epic partnership with Arbitrum set to transform Web3

Robinhood, an online stock and cryptocurrency brokerage service, has partnered with the management team of Arbitrum, an Ethereum-based layer-2 network, to provide wallet users with access to the protocol’s swaps.

According to a press release, the alliance was established on February 29 at the ETHDenver 2024 event in Colorado, with the goal of simplifying the road to layer-2 networks.

According to a news statement, Robinhood Wallet users will be able to transact with Arbitrum, and the two companies will collaborate over the next few months “to support access to cross-chain swaps and other campaigns that lower the barriers to use Web3 on Robinhood Wallet.”

By opening access to Arbitrum’s advanced scaling solutions, Robinhood Wallet users can now take advantage of low transaction costs and fast transaction speeds on one of the most popular networks in the crypto ecosystem. A statement from Robinhood

Arbitrum swaps had been in beta for “several weeks” before being officially announced today, according to Johann Kerbrat, general manager of Robinhood Crypto. A token swap is the immediate exchange of one token for another, without first converting it to fiat cash.

Arbitrum is an auxiliary layer-2 blockchain, sometimes known as a roll-up, that processes transactions more cheaply and quickly than the main Ethereum blockchain. Arbitrum leads the way in decentralized finance or DeFi, total value locked (TVL) for layer 2s on Ethereum, with around $3.2 billion, according to DefiLlama.

Johann Kerbrat, general manager of Robinhood Crypto, commented on the development: 

Ethereum gas fees are an essential part of securing the network, but these same fees can hinder adoption. Layer 2s like Arbitrum, which is currently the leading chain by total-locked value, help solve this problem for our users.

Accessing and transacting on L2s has historically been difficult to non-crypto natives, but Robinhood Wallet now helps strip away the complexities to help onboard those new to web3. Johann Kerbrat.

Robinhood Wallet, a self-custody crypto wallet, allows users to store and manage assets on a variety of networks, including Ethereum, Bitcoin, Dogecoin, Arbitrum, Polygon, Optimism, and Base, while keeping their private keys and full ownership of their currencies.

Arbitrum TVL Soars

Arbitrum works as a secondary layer-2 blockchain, often known as a rollup, processing transactions more effectively than the core Ethereum blockchain.

Ethereum’s transaction speed is roughly 15 transactions per second (TPS), whereas Bitcoin’s TPS is at 7. According to DefiLlama, the total value locked (TVL) is around $3.27 billion. On January 1, its TVL stood at $2.45 billion, an increase of almost $820 million in two months.

Meanwhile, Robinhood just announced that its users prefer spot crypto trading to crypto ETFs, despite the launch of the spot Bitcoin ETF on January 10.

Robinhood Wallet, which launched approximately a year ago, is presently only available on iOS. The Android wallet is currently in beta testing, with a public queue available for registration. Kerbrat believes it will be officially launched in the coming months.

Adding Robinhood Wallet into the Arbitrum ecosystem is an exciting moment for the community. As DeFi continues to lead on Arbitrum, we’ll now see one of the most recognizable trading platforms bring low-cost in-app swaps to a wide audience of traders.

This collaboration pushes web3 democratization forward and is poised to empower users to further explore the potential of web3 in finance. A.J. Warner, chief strategy officer of Offchain Labs, the developer of the Arbitrum network.