Robinhood is bringing crypto perpetual futures to US customers, with up to 10x leverage available on Bitcoin and Ether, the retail brokerage’s latest step in expanding its digital asset offerings for American traders. Because perpetual futures are leveraged derivatives, they can magnify both gains and losses.

In an interview published by Bitcoin Magazine, Nicola White, Robinhood’s vice president of institutional crypto, explains how the rollout came together, pointing to the role of a Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) no-action letter, the Bitstamp exchange, and Robinhood Derivatives. She also outlines why the company wants markets to be always on.

The interview, “Bitcoin’s Institutional Era Has Arrived | Robinhood VP of Crypto Institutions Nicola White,” was published on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Patrick Green.

Perpetual futures are derivatives contracts with no expiration date, allowing traders to hold leveraged long or short positions indefinitely. The instrument originated in the crypto market and has become one of its most heavily traded products, historically concentrated on offshore venues. In the United States, leveraged derivatives fall under the oversight of the CFTC, the federal agency that regulates futures markets; no-action letters are staff statements indicating the agency does not intend to recommend enforcement action under specified conditions. Bitstamp, founded in 2011 and among the longest-running cryptocurrency exchanges, was acquired by Robinhood in 2025, adding institutional-grade exchange infrastructure to the retail platform.

The conversation spans Robinhood’s recent product push and the broader institutionalization of Bitcoin, touching on the company’s Hood Summit, 24/7 stock trading, and US crypto perpetuals; why Robinhood wants markets that never close; Bitstamp perps and the CFTC no-action letter; tokenized stocks and the basis trade as part of the path for US perps; Bitstamp’s trading volume and the retail–institutional merger; what institutions want to do with Bitcoin; institutional Bitcoin depth and large block trades; AI trading agents and Robinhood’s sub-account controls; lessons from the 2022 meltdown and US leverage limits; and how Bitcoin could change finance over the next decade, along with what’s next for tokenized stocks.

Chapters

• 0:00 Robinhood’s Hood Summit: 24/7 Stock Trading and US Crypto Perps
• 0:40 Why Robinhood Wants Markets That Never Close
• 1:32 Bitstamp Perps and the CFTC No-Action Letter
• :19 Tokenized Stocks, the Basis Trade, and the Path for US Perps
• 3:20 Bitstamp’s Volume and the Retail–Institutional Merger
• 4:54 What Institutions Want to Do With Bitcoin
• 6:00 Institutional Bitcoin Depth and Large Block Trades
• 6:49 AI Trading Agents and Robinhood’s Sub-Account Controls
• 8:29 Lessons From the 2022 Meltdown and US Leverage Limits
• 10:12 How Bitcoin Changes Finance in 10 Years and What’s Next for Tokenized Stocks

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This post, “Bitcoin’s Institutional Era Has Arrived | Robinhood VP of Crypto Institutions Nicola White,” first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and is written by Patrick Green.