Shares in Robinhood Markets jumped in overnight trading following news that zero-commission online trading platform started testing a cryptocurrency wallet for investors to store and transfer digital currencies.
The shares rose 2.1 per cent to $41.54 in late trading on the back of media reports about the company's cryptocurrency wallet testing, Bloomberg reported. To date, the stock has climbed 7.41 per cent since its initial public offering on the Nasdaq technology index in July.
Evidence of Robinhood’s testing appeared in a beta version of its iPhone app, which includes a “hidden image portraying a wait-list for users signing up for a crypto wallet feature”, according to Bloomberg.
Cryptocurrency wallets are tools that are commonly used to store and transfer digital coins, and are protected by a private key. They come in different forms; hot wallets, which are connected to the internet and considered more risky, and cold wallets, which operate primarily offline.
“At this time, we don't have the functionality to allow customers to transfer their cryptocurrency assets into or out of their Robinhood crypto account,” Robinhood said on its website.
“However, we’re currently working on providing the ability to deposit and withdraw supported cryptocurrencies.”
Robinhood has played a leading role in the global trend of democratising trading for amateur investors. It also reshaped how small-time traders buy and sell stocks when it caused Gamestop shares to surge earlier this year after the US video games retailer was shorted by Wall Street hedge funds.
Robinhood customers can already buy and sell a range of cryptocurrencies through the trading app, including Bitcoin, Ether and Dogecoin. However, a cryptocurrency wallet would also allow them to send and receive digital coins. Other companies such as Coinbase Global and Gemini Trust already offer cryptocurrency wallets of their own, according to Bloomberg.
About 45 per cent of 4,000 people in the UAE, US, UK, China and South Korea polled last year by blockchain-based research platform Realresearch said they used digital wallets frequently, while 18.6 per cent of users said they used only cold wallets.
Half the respondents also said the security of their cryptocurrency assets was extremely important when choosing a new wallet.
“The addition of a crypto wallet should certainly excite the Robinhood investor base,” said Vijay Valecha, chief investment officer at Dubai-based investment company Century Financial.
“With 31 million clients, the company is popular with Gen Z and millennials. These young people … are willing to take a risk and many are likely to make cryptos as a part of their assets.”
During an earnings call in August, Robinhood chief executive Vlad Tenev said that adding crypto wallets was a priority for the company’s developers, Bloomberg reported at the time.
“It’s something that our teams are working on,” Mr Vlad was quoted as saying by Bloomberg. He said the feature was in demand among Dogecoin fans. “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.”
The addition of a crypto wallet should certainly should excite the Robinhood investor base
Vijay Valecha,
chief investment officer at Century Financial.
Robinhood customers will also have the ability to set up two-factor authentication to use the cryptocurrency wallet feature, Bloomberg said. The planned offerings, it said, were discovered by software developer Steve Moser.
While the total cryptocurrency market capitalisation stands at $1.86 trillion, Robinhood's plan to introduce a wallet could help the sector to grow further, Mr Valecha said.
“Cryptos are still in their early innings,” he said. “It's worth noting that the world's largest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, has a market cap of only $794 billion compared with tech behemoth Apple's value of $2.37tn. So Robinhood is not late to the party and, in fact, it might help mainstream crypto trading further.”
Meanwhile, Robinhood is facing regulatory uncertainty as it makes money through the Payment For Order Flow business model, Mr Valecha said.
“Through this, firms like Citadel Securities and Susquehanna Investment Group pay money to Robinhood to take the other side of trades. This practice is now widely criticised as unethical and Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Gary Gensler recently stated that they were reviewing it and might even ban this practice,” he said.
“Robinhood shares are likely to trade rangebound while this risk is there.”
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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The years Ramadan fell in May
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
It's Monty Python's Crashing Rocket Circus
To the theme tune of the famous zany British comedy TV show, SpaceX has shown exactly what can go wrong when you try to land a rocket.
The two minute video posted on YouTube is a compilation of crashes and explosion as the company, created by billionaire Elon Musk, refined the technique of reusable space flight.
SpaceX is able to land its rockets on land once they have completed the first stage of their mission, and is able to resuse them multiple times - a first for space flight.
But as the video, How Not to Land an Orbital Rocket Booster, demonstrates, it was a case if you fail, try and try again.
UAE players with central contracts
Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Rameez Shahzad, Shaiman Anwar, Adnan Mufti, Mohammed Usman, Ghulam Shabbir, Ahmed Raza, Qadeer Ahmed, Amir Hayat, Mohammed Naveed and Imran Haider.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.
Williams at Wimbledon
Venus Williams - 5 titles (2000, 2001, 2005, 2007 and 2008)
Serena Williams - 7 titles (2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2015 and 2016)
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Elvis
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2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
The%20specs
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Could%20We%20Be%20More
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Essentials
The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct from the UAE to Delhi from about Dh950 return including taxes.
The hotels
Double rooms at Tijara Fort-Palace cost from 6,670 rupees (Dh377), including breakfast.
Doubles at Fort Bishangarh cost from 29,030 rupees (Dh1,641), including breakfast. Doubles at Narendra Bhawan cost from 15,360 rupees (Dh869). Doubles at Chanoud Garh cost from 19,840 rupees (Dh1,122), full board. Doubles at Fort Begu cost from 10,000 rupees (Dh565), including breakfast.
The tours
Amar Grover travelled with Wild Frontiers. A tailor-made, nine-day itinerary via New Delhi, with one night in Tijara and two nights in each of the remaining properties, including car/driver, costs from £1,445 (Dh6,968) per person.
Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
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The%20specs
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Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
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SERIE A FIXTURES
Friday (UAE kick-off times)
Sassuolo v Bologna (11.45pm)
Saturday
Brescia v Torino (6pm)
Inter Milan v Verona (9pm)
Napoli v Genoa (11.45pm)
Sunday
Cagliari v Verona (3.30pm)
Udinese v SPAL (6pm)
Sampdoria v Atalanta (6pm)
Lazio v Lecce (6pm)
Parma v Roma (9pm)
Juventus v Milan (11.45pm)
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