Robinhood Markets, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOOD), a California-based financial services company, offers a range of investor services including cryptocurrency trading, dividend reinvestment, and fractional share investment. The platform allows real-time trading in stocks, crypto, and options, earning transactional fees from routing orders to market makers upon execution.

With its close association with the cryptocurrency market, Robinhood shares have surged 35% since the year began, in tandem with Bitcoin’s breakout to record highs. Despite this, HOOD still trades over 11% below its 52-week high.

In its Q4 results released in February, Robinhood posted a profit of $30 million, marking its second profitable quarter. Revenue for the period reached $471 million, up 24% from the previous year. Interest revenue experienced a notable 41% increase, reaching $236 million, whereas transaction-based revenue amounted to $200 million, marking an 8% year-over-year rise. Notably, cryptocurrency revenue contributed $43 million to the latter, offsetting a slight decline in options revenue.

However, for the full year, HOOD reported a net loss of $487 million, despite a 37% YoY revenue increase to $1.87 billion. Management highlighted its expanding global presence in crypto services during the quarterly earnings call, noting brokerage services in the U.K. and crypto offerings in the EU.

More recently, Robinhood reported a 10% sequential increase in crypto trading volumes to $6.5 billion in February.

Bernstein commenced coverage of Robinhood with an “Outperform” rating and set a price target of $30. The analysts anticipate significant institutional adoption of Bitcoin to drive HOOD’s revenues substantially higher, projecting a nine-fold increase by 2025, with the total crypto market cap reaching $7.5 trillion.

This new price target from Bernstein, the highest on Wall Street, implies a potential upside of 74.4% from current levels.

However, other analysts hold varying views on Robinhood, with a consensus “Hold” rating among 15 analysts covering the stock. While four analysts rate it as a “Strong Buy,” eight suggest “Hold,” one recommends a “Moderate Sell,” and two advocate a “Strong Sell.” The mean price target from this group stands at $14.61, indicating a potential downside of 15.5%.

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Ben Armstrong, a cryptocurrency analyst, anticipates a substantial bull run for Cardano’s ADA. Armstrong’s prediction is grounded in the growing public attention toward ongoing developments within the Cardano ecosystem. He referenced Ali Martinez’s ADA forecast, suggesting a potential rally to $5 following a consolidation period.

Armstrong underscores the increasing public awareness surrounding activities on the Cardano blockchain. While he couldn’t determine if the surge in awareness is orchestrated by the Cardano team, he remains confident that it will positively impact ADA’s price. Drawing from historical data, Armstrong notes that significant ADA movements often follow such developments.

The launch of a fiat-backed stablecoin (USDM) on Cardano is highlighted by Armstrong as a noteworthy development contributing to Cardano’s momentum. He describes this stablecoin as a groundbreaking addition to the Cardano network, potentially addressing challenges faced by the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem on Cardano.

Armstrong views the USDM launch as a significant milestone, expected to enhance security, scalability, and sustainability for decentralized applications (DApps) on the Cardano network.

Further analyzing the ecosystem, Armstrong points to Charles Hoskinson, Cardano’s CEO, addressing concerns regarding the Hydra project. Hoskinson’s reassurance to the Cardano community regarding the progress of the Hydra project is noted by Armstrong as another factor contributing to Cardano’s growing prominence.

Armstrong also references Ali Martinez’s price analysis, which predicts ADA consolidating between $0.55 and $0.80 soon, followed by a rally to $1.70 before potentially reaching $5. At the time of writing, ADA was trading at $0.614, having retreated from a recent high of $0.81.

In summary, Armstrong’s analysis suggests that ADA could experience a significant price surge to $5 fueled by the rising public notoriety surrounding Cardano’s ongoing developments.

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Bitcoin mining stocks faced losses this week amid a broader downturn in Bitcoin prices. Despite this multi-day correction phase, the overall bullish sentiment for digital assets remains strong.

A significant worry in the market revolves around the impending Bitcoin halving event, slated for late April when the block height reaches 840,000. This event reduces the reward for mining new blocks by half, thus slowing the rate at which new bitcoins are generated.

Nejc Kržan, Head of NiceX Exchange, noted that many large mining farms are converting to fiat amid the anticipation of a challenging period post-halving.

In a recent comprehensive analysis by JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM), the financial giant revisited the operational and financial trends of the bitcoin mining industry amidst the ongoing crypto market selloff. The report assessed the performance and strategic positioning of leading mining companies, including Cipher Mining Inc. (NASDAQ:CIFR), CleanSpark (NASDAQ:CLSK), Iris Energy Ltd (NASDAQ:IREN), Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA), and Riot Platforms (NASDAQ:RIOT), projecting a positive outlook for the sector in 2024.

JPMorgan equity analysts report that the broader mining industry saw its most substantial quarterly gross profit since the second quarter of 2022 during the final quarter of 2023, indicating a strong recovery. The report expects industry-wide gross profits to rise in the first quarter of 2024, followed by a downturn in the second quarter as the block reward is halved, reflecting the cyclical nature of mining industry profitability.

Marathon Digital emerged as the industry’s top performer in 2023, with JPMorgan highlighting its capacity expansions and Bitcoin output. The report noted that Marathon Digital added the most capacity and mined more bitcoin than any other operator in their coverage universe.

Looking ahead, Riot Platforms and CleanSpark are identified as key players poised for strong growth in 2024, according to JPMorgan analysts.

The report also highlighted Cipher’s competitive edge due to its low power costs per coin mined in the fourth quarter of 2023, contrasting with Marathon’s higher costs. However, it commended Marathon for its operational efficiency, driven by scale and lean operations.

In terms of financing activities, the report revealed that the five miners in JPMorgan’s coverage universe issued over $2 billion in equity via ATM offerings in 2023, indicating a significant increase from the previous year.

Overall, JPMorgan’s report maintains an optimistic view of the mining industry’s resilience and adaptability, expecting miner profitability to rise in the first quarter of 2024 before declining in the second quarter due to the halving.

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The journey towards institutional adoption has long been a target for cryptocurrency proponents, aiming to bring a new level of legitimacy to the asset class and potentially drive prices higher. The launch of several spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in January marked a historic milestone for the sector, paving the way for wider adoption. However, a survey conducted by the Digital Assets Council of Financial Professionals (DCAFP) in December indicated that crypto adoption was already on the rise before the ETFs’ launch.

The survey, conducted in partnership with Franklin Templeton Digital Assets, revealed that 59% of financial professionals, including 78 financial advisors managing client portfolios, actively recommended crypto to clients. Notably, over 7% of advisors recommended crypto to all clients, while 29% recommended it to more than half of their clients. The majority of advisors (81%) suggested allocating 1% to 5% of assets to crypto, with a smaller fraction recommending higher allocations.

In terms of client holdings, 83% of financial advisors found that 10% to 49% of their clients invested in crypto, indicating a notable level of interest among investors. Furthermore, 41% of advisors not currently recommending crypto expressed plans to do so, with a significant portion intending to allocate to crypto within the year.

Despite the retail-driven nature of the market, institutions are showing a growing appetite for crypto assets, according to Mathew McDermot, head of digital assets at Goldman Sachs. McDermot highlighted the recent surge in institutional interest, attributing it to factors like the launch of spot BTC ETFs, which triggered a “psychological shift” in investor sentiment and could pave the way for the tokenization of assets.

McDermot emphasized the importance of regulatory clarity in facilitating institutional adoption, noting that the SEC’s approval of spot BTC ETFs marked a significant moment for the market, particularly in the U.S. He pointed out the growing volumes in CME Group’s derivatives marketplace as evidence of institutional interest.

Offering Bitcoin in ETF form has made it more accessible to the masses and removed barriers associated with storing and transacting with cryptocurrencies. McDermot highlighted the enhanced investment protection provided by ETFs, making them a more user-friendly option for institutional investors.

Looking ahead, Goldman Sachs is focused on developing proofs of concept around tokenization and leveraging blockchain technology to better serve clients interested in digital assets. McDermot envisions a “tokenization continuum,” starting with more traditional financial products like Treasuries and stablecoins before expanding to more complex markets like real estate private equity.

McDermot sees promise in blockchain technology, citing its potential to de-risk the market, improve operational efficiency, and enhance liquidity management. While crypto presents intriguing opportunities, he believes the underlying technology holds significant potential for transforming financial markets.

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The Open Network Foundation, the entity behind developing the TON blockchain powering Telegram’s new advertising platform, has unveiled a community incentive program worth $115 million. This initiative will see the allocation of 30 million Toncoin (TON) tokens to reward the community.

As outlined in the announcement on March 20, the incentives will be distributed across four key areas: $38 million for token mining and user incentives, $22 million for airdrops, $15 million for The League developer ecosystem, and $40 million for liquidity pool boosts. Developers stated that the distribution of the 30 million Toncoin will commence on April 1 in monthly seasons, to facilitate a straightforward journey from Telegram user to on-chain participant.

During an initial pilot season, the TON Foundation disbursed 650,000 TON tokens ($2.6 million) through Liquidity Pool boosts and plans to allocate 550,000 TON tokens ($2.2 million) among winning projects in The League Pilot on March 31. Jack Booth, Director of Marketing at TON Foundation, remarked on the positive response from the community during the pilot season, indicating readiness for further engagement.

The Telegram Ad Platform, operating on the TON blockchain, was recently launched in March 2024. This platform enables Telegram channel owners globally to monetize their channels by selling advertising space and sharing revenue in TON tokens.

Originally developed by Telegram, the TON token’s development was halted in May 2020 following a legal dispute with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Despite this setback, Telegram remains a significant player in the messaging app landscape, boasting over 900 million users globally and ranking as the world’s fourth-largest messaging app.

In recent developments, Telegram co-founder Pavel Durov revealed plans for the company to pursue profitability, with considerations for an initial public offering (IPO). Durov also hinted at potentially offering priority access to loyal users for the firm’s IPO subscription, taking inspiration from Reddit’s approach. Over the past year, TON has seen a notable surge of close to 75% in value, currently trading at $4.12.

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