FinTech News
Stock Trading App Public Adding Cryptocurrency Support
As interest in cryptocurrency continues to rise, an increasingly popular stock trading platform has announced that it will now support crypto trades as well. This week, Public announced that crypto trading would be open to app users soon.
At launch, users will be able to trade ten initial crypto assets in the app: Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Cardano (ADA), Dogecoin (DOGE), Litecoin (LTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Stellar (XLM), Ethereum Classic (ETC), Dash (DASH), and Zcash (ZEC). Additionally, customers will be able to add any of these to their watchlists. In fact, although the trade functionality will roll out in the coming weeks, all users can currently explore these crypto listings. When trading is enabled, members can invest as little as $1 in any of these assets. The feature will also support Limit Orders for buying or selling.
Something to note is that, when Public’s crypto feature does debut, it will not be available to customers in New York. As a blog post from the company explains, their partner, Apex Crypto, has yet to obtain a BitLicense in the state. However, as mentioned, these members will be able to view crypto prices in the app. Additionally, Apex is “optimistic” about bringing the feature to New Yorkers down the road.
Public’s expansion in cryptocurrency comes as the platform has sought to disrupt the disruptor by taking on Robinhood. Earlier this year, amid a scandal that saw Robinhood criticized for limiting trades on select volatile stocks, Public announced that it was changing its business model to move away from payment for order flow (PFOF), which the startup saw as a conflict of interest. Instead, the app now works directly with Apex Clearing and gives users the option to tip on trades to help Public make up for lost PFOF revenue. Now, just as Robinhood is preparing to launch the much-requested crypto wallet feature, Public swoops in with its own crypto announcement. That said, at this time, Public will not offer crypto wallets, but notes “we understand that this is something that some of our members may want and are working toward this in the future.”
Obviously cryptocurrency trading was one of the features that Public users had been asking for the most. Now that it’s nearly here, the next big question will be “when will wallets arrive?” Despite that inevitable follow-up demand — and the fact that New York customers will be missing out for now — the rollout of cryptocurrency trading support is big news for Public and crypto itself. In particular, the launch could be a boon to some of the smaller assets that will be featured in this initial rollout. Therefore, it may be worth checking out Public as the app continues to grow its member base and features.
