Robinhood and Revolut Neither Confirm Nor Deny Report of Stablecoins

Robinhood Markets and Revolut were reportedly noncommittal when asked about a media report that they are considering launching stablecoins.

When asked about the report by Bloomberg, a Robinhood spokesperson said the company has “no imminent plans to launch this offering,” while a Revolut spokesperson said the company plans to “further grow” its suite of crypto products, without confirming talk of a stablecoin, Bloomberg reported Thursday (Sept. 26).

In the same report, Bloomberg said that unnamed sources told it that Robinhood and Revolut are considering issuing their own stablecoins.

The report added that Robinhood and Revolut are considering the idea of issuing their own stablecoins but could choose not to do so.

It attributed these moves by the companies to expectations that regulatory changes in Europe and elsewhere will expand opportunities in the digital asset sector.

Tether, whose USDT accounts for more than two-thirds of the stablecoin market in terms of value in circulation, doesn’t have the appropriate permits to meet European Union crypto rules known as MiCA that are set to be adopted at the end of the year, according to the report.

These rules could force crypto exchanges operating in the EU to delist stablecoins from issuers that don’t have the appropriate permits, the report said.

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said in the report that the company is working on a solution to serve the EU market.

Circle Internet Financial, whose USDC is the runner-up to Tether’s USDT in terms of market share, has received the required EU license, per the report.

Stablecoins have been gaining traction in recent years in large part because they solve one of crypto’s biggest problems: volatility.

As digital currencies pegged to traditional fiat currencies like the U.S. dollar, stablecoins are designed to maintain a stable value. They also reduce transaction costs and settlement times by bypassing traditional banking systems and intermediaries.

When blockchain/cryptocurrency company Ripple announced plans in April to launch a dollar-pegged stablecoin, it said its solution would bridge the gap between traditional finance and crypto.