Give me a lever and a point of support, and I will lift the world. Robinhood announced crypto perpetual contracts for its eligible US customers on Tuesday (September 29). At his HOOD Summit in Houston, he promised up to 10x leverage on bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH). Thus, the most popular broker in the United States comes to hunt on the land of offshore platforms. A field that Coinbase is also eyeing.
However, no one can trade these products yet. In fact, Robinhood promises a launch “in the coming months”, without giving a date.
Robinhood Perpetuals: Assets, Leverage, Fees and Timing
A perpetual contract is a leveraged bet on the price of an asset, with no expiration date. According to Robinhood's press release, the program has eight cryptos. These are BTC, ETH, SOL, XRP, DOGE, ADA, LINK and HYPE, the token of Hyperliquid. As for leverage, it reaches 10x on bitcoin and ether, then drops to 3x for all others.
The offer will go through Robinhood Derivatives and Bitstamp, the platform that the broker bought. On the fee side, the broker charges 0.01% per transaction until the end of the year. In addition, the application will display the liquidation price in real time. It will also offer stop-loss, take-profit orders and risk alerts.
The date remains. However, the press release only says “in the coming months”. Furthermore, the published documents do not detail the eligibility criteria. For stocks, CoinDesk reports that the offering starts with crypto. On the other hand, Robinhood does not announce any timetable for perpetuals on securities.
“Robinhood introduces its first true variable rate products in the United States. No deadlines, with a calculation of profits and losses every 15 minutes. A new chapter is opening.”
Weekend stock trading and AI agents: two different statuses
Robinhood labels weekend trading “coming soon, subject to regulatory review.” Concretely, it would extend the 24 Hour Market, accessible from Sunday 8 p.m. to Friday 8 p.m. (Eastern time). This market covers a selection of US stocks and ETFs. Bruce ATS, an alternative trading system, serves as a liquidity provider there. However, the press release does not give any date.
AI agents are more advanced. According to CoinDesk, they rely on models from OpenAI or Anthropic. Since launching this year, customers have opened more than 150,000 agentic accounts. By default, the client must approve each trade that the agent offers. In addition, the agent only receives the funds from the dedicated account and does not have access to the margin at launch. Finally, Robinhood is announcing “soon” the Loops function, which automates recurring strategies. It will run continuously in the background, even outside the application.
Two other announcements, however, have a calendar. First, options hours extend from October, from 7:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Then, intraday purchasing power increases next month to 4x, up from 2x. This increase targets eligible margin customers who activate it.
Perps in the United States: Robinhood facing offshore platforms
The HYPE token is on the Robinhood menu. On Hyperliquid, perpetuals on the S&P 500 of Trade[XYZ], active since March, are already trading 24 hours a day, including weekends. Robinhood therefore brings back into an American broker application a use that decentralized finance has been serving for months.
On the regulator side, the door opens a little for the software. There was first a plea from Hyperliquid and Phantom in July. On September 17, the CFTC then extended this tolerance to all passive software providers: no registration required as a broker. But the published documents do not mention any green light specific to perpetuals. As for the weekend, it is still awaiting review from the regulator.
Leverage and liquidation: the risks for an individual
Robinhood itself warns, according to CoinDesk, that a relatively small move can liquidate a highly leveraged position. In other words, the platform forcibly closes the position and the client loses his stake. At 10x, the margin melts ten times faster than the price moves. This is why the broker says it chose lower leverage for more volatile tokens.
Three points therefore remain to be monitored: the launch date, pricing after 2026 and eligibility. Robinhood only talks about American customers. This offer therefore does not concern French readers.
