IMPORTANT POINTS:
- Robinhood owns the fifth-largest Ethereum portfolio in the world, according to Arkham Invest.
- The platform safeguards assets such as Shibha, Chainlink, and Avalanche, as well as Ethereum.
- Binance highlights difficulties in conducting proof-of-reserve audits in the crypto industry, while Robinhood introduces Ethereum exchanges.
Arkham Invest has brought to light a startling revelation: Robinhood, the well-known investment platform, reportedly has the fifth-largest Ethereum portfolio in the world. This information comes on the heels of Arkham Invest previously identifying Robinhood as the holder of the third-largest Bitcoin wallet globally.
Details of Ethereum Holdings on Robinhood
According to Arkham Invest research, it is estimated that Robinhood owns around 1.493 million Ethereum, whose value is close to 2.54 billion. Through a post on the X platform (formerly known as Twitter), Arkham stressed that this amount represents the fifth-largest Ethereum holding on the global scene.
Not only Ethereum captures attention in this wallet. Other digital assets also have a significant presence, including Shibha, worth $163 million, Chainlink, valued at $14.23 million, and Avalanche, with an estimated $10.4 million. All of these assets are held by Robinhood.
A question arose after the disclosure of these data:
Who do these funds really belong to? An inquisitive user asked: “Are these funds owned or owned by users?”. Arkham’s response focused on guidelines from the SEC, which has increased its vigilance over crypto regulations: “These are funds that Robinhood holds in escrow representing the balances of its users. The SEC rules that crypto balances on Robinhood must be backed at a 1:1 ratio.”
The crypto industry has been the scene of intense Proof of Reserves discussions over the past year. The SEC has issued warnings to investors to be careful when examining proof-of-reserve audit reports from crypto exchanges, as these reports may not fully reflect the situation.
On the other hand, Binance has pointed to the increasing difficulties that crypto exchanges face in obtaining auditors to perform these reserve tests, especially given the current intense regulation. According to Binance, even the large accounting firms, known as the Big Four, are reluctant to perform these audits.
In closing, a recent update to Robinhood is worth mentioning: the implementation of Ethereum exchanges. With this functionality, users can exchange Ethereum-based tokens without needing to have ETH in their possession. The network costs for these swaps are deducted directly from the tokens that users already own.
