The online broker has been criticized for taking its time to add tokens. The wait is over for the shibheads: Robinhood is finally letting customers buy and sell shiba inu coin, a popular token whose supporters have been lobbying the online brokerage to list it.
Robinhood announced the addition of four cryptocurrencies to the trading app Tuesday, including compound, polygon, and Solana.
In a statement, Steve Quirk, Robinhood’s chief brokerage officer, said the company was “excited to add more choices for our customers as we work to make Robinhood the best place to invest in crypto.”
Quirk said Robinhood uses “a rigorous framework” in evaluating new assets for listing. CEO Vlad Tenev has said that the company was taking a cautious approach to adding new tokens.
“We’re going to be very careful,” Tenev told analysts on an earnings call last year. “We’re a regulated entity, and we’re hopeful to get some clarity soon on coins.”
Shiba inu coin began as a parody of another meme cryptocurrency, dogecoin. Tad Park, CEO of the crypto investment fund Volt Equity, called it “the joke of a joke.”
But like dogecoin, it has taken off, becoming one of the most valuable cryptocurrencies by market value. Shiba inu coin actually surpassed dogecoin late last year, rising to become the ninth-largest cryptocurrency, before slipping back to the No. 15 spot.
A key strength for shiba inu coin is its base of very enthusiastic supporters who call each other “shibheads” and have lobbied hard for the cryptocurrency to be added to major exchanges.
Coinbase and Public.com added the token last year. Shiba supporters launched a petition drive, which now has nearly 600,000 signatures, to convince Robinhood to follow suit.
Shiba inu rallied on news of the Robinhood listing. Robinhood shares also climbed nearly 4% in late-morning trades.
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