Robinhood: Traders ’Going Pretty Wide’ into Altcoins as Dip Continues
Robinhood’s head of crypto Johann Kerbrat says customers are using the market dip as an opportunity to diversify beyond Bitcoin and Ether, trading a wider range of altcoins and engaging more with on-chain use cases. Kerbrat told Cointelegraph that many users are buying the dip, staking since Robinhood launched staking in December, and exploring DeFi despite lingering market uncertainty. Industry figures cited include Coinbase Asset Management president Anthony Bassili, who noted investors still prioritize BTC then ETH and lack consensus on a clear third choice, and MidChains CEO Basil Al Askari, who observed large institutional block trades into top-20 assets but only cautious movement into smaller-cap alts or DeFi. Market indicators referenced: the Altcoin Season Index showed a Bitcoin Season score of 33/100 (favoring BTC), the Crypto Fear & Greed Index remains in “Extreme Fear”, and US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded roughly $3.8 billion of net outflows across five consecutive weeks. Key implications for traders: increased retail and some institutional rotation into a broader set of altcoins, growing use-case activity (staking, DeFi) on retail platforms, but continued dominance of BTC/ETH and risk-off flows reflected in ETF outflows and extreme fear readings.
Neutral
The news signals a widening of retail (and some institutional) interest beyond BTC and ETH, with increased trading of altcoins and growing use-case engagement (staking, DeFi) on Robinhood. That can support selective rallies in altcoins as traders buy dips. However, several counterweights limit a bullish classification: the Altcoin Season Index still favors Bitcoin (33/100), the Fear & Greed Index remains in "Extreme Fear", and US spot BTC ETFs have seen persistent net outflows (~$3.8B over five weeks). Institutional flow data cited by MidChains indicates large managers favor top-20 assets rather than small-cap alts. Taken together, the piece points to diversification within an overall risk-averse environment — potential short-term opportunities in specific altcoins and staking products, but continued market fragility and dominance of BTC/ETH keep the overall stance neutral. Similar past periods (e.g., post-correction altcoin rotations) produced brief altcoin rallies followed by re-concentration into BTC/ETH when macro or ETF flows turned risk-off.