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Robinhood eyes $35 billion valuation, but expects crypto craze to fade

The online brokerage's latest IPO filing says strong crypto trading activity seen from April to June may not last into the fall.

The Robinhood app on a phone

Robinhood expects a valuation of up to $35 billion in an updated IPO filing.

Photoillustration: Omar Marques/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Robinhood said it expects the trading craze, particularly in crypto, that propelled it to new highs in 2021 to fade, as it eyes a valuation of up to $35 billion, according to the company's updated IPO filing.

The online brokerage said it plans to sell shares at a price range of $38 to $42, which translates to a valuation of $32 billion to $35 billion, the company said. That's lower than the $40 billion valuation the online brokerage was reportedly seeking.

Robinhood also warned that the trading craze it saw in the first part of the year which saw "new users joining our platform, driven by general market interest trading" may not last. The company said it expects revenue for its September quarter to be lower than its June quarter, when the company saw a spike in retail investing, especially in cryptocurrencies. The expected decline is the "result of decreased levels of trading" particularly in cryptocurrencies, the company said.

Robinhood made its IPO filing public on July 1, setting the stage for one of the most anticipated public trading debuts this year. Here's everything you need to know about the pending IPO.

Correction: This story's headline was updated to correct Robinhood's desired valuation. This story was updated July 20, 2021.

Benjamin Pimentel

Benjamin Pimentel ( @benpimentel) covers crypto and fintech from San Francisco. He has reported on many of the biggest tech stories over the past 20 years for the San Francisco Chronicle, Dow Jones MarketWatch and Business Insider, from the dot-com crash, the rise of cloud computing, social networking and AI to the impact of the Great Recession and the COVID crisis on Silicon Valley and beyond. He can be reached at bpimentel@protocol.com or via Google Voice at (925) 307-9342.

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