Robinhood stock nears $113 as jobs data and SEC token caps meet

What happened

Robinhood stock traded near $113.24 on October 1 as investors weighed unemployment claims and softer inflation. Bitcoin price stood around $83,975, while Ethereum traded near $2,700 and XRP hovered at $1.49.

Initial unemployment claims totaled 197,000 for the week ended September 26, below the 201,000 forecast. The prior reading was revised from 197,000 to 198,000, and the four-week average fell to 200,000. Continuing claims declined by 11,000 to 1.701 million.

The report said annual core PCE inflation was 3.0% and headline PCE inflation reached 3.4%, above the Federal Reserve's 2% target. In September, policymakers hiked their benchmark rate to 3.75%, 4.00%.

Robinhood's crypto chief said stock token volume is already high enough to potentially run into trading limits under the SEC's new five-year tokenization exemption. The SEC issued its innovation exemption on Sept. 17, allowing qualifying venues to trade tokenized National Market System stocks without registering as exchanges.

Why it matters

The jobs and inflation data matter because investor confidence and trading activity in equities, options, and cryptocurrencies are potential draws for Robinhood stock. Revenue would require customers to raise trading volumes, and the company reported $100 million in second-quarter cryptocurrency revenue, down 38% from a year earlier.

The SEC exemption matters because it sets caps that could limit stock token volume. Tier 1 tokenized stocks are limited to 75 symbols and 0.25% of the underlying stock's average daily share volume. Tier 2 products are capped at 250 symbols and 2.5% of the underlying stock's average daily volume. A venue that repeatedly exceeds a threshold must pause trading for three months.

Background

• Robinhood's Stock Tokens are issued as debt securities by an entity based in Jersey. They are available in more than 120 countries through Robinhood Wallet but are not offered to U.S. users.
• Robinhood Stock Tokens remained unavailable to U.S. investors at the time. Last month, AMC Entertainment CEO Adam Aron called Robinhood's stock tokens illegal offerings and said AMC had not agreed to them.
• Robinhood announced on Sept. 29 that it is bringing crypto perpetual futures to U.S. customers. The product will cover eight cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin, Ether, Solana, XRP, Dogecoin, Cardano, Chainlink and Hyperliquid.

What is still unclear

• The September payroll report is scheduled for October 2 and will provide broader evidence on hiring. The reports do not include its outcome.
• Robinhood's crypto chief said raising leverage in the U.S. is still to be decided, and he declined to share a 2027 list of U.S. derivatives products.
• Kerbrat said the company is still trying to understand all the parameters of the SEC order.

Questions readers ask