Finance

Robinhood Challenges Wall Street Giants: A New Era in Banking

Robinhood (HOOD) is targeting major banks and their ATM services for deposits.

The trading platform, which has evolved into a quasi-bank and wealth manager, has introduced two new products that will directly compete with America's largest traditional banks, including JPMorgan (JPM), Citigroup (C), and Bank of America (BAC).

Robinhood Banking will offer traditional checking and savings accounts with an annual percentage yield of 4%, available to members of the platform's Gold service. These accounts will be FDIC-insured through Robinhood's partnership with Coastal Community Bank.

Additionally, the company is introducing a "cash to your door" service, using an app akin to Uber’s (UBER) for banking customers.

Robinhood co-founder and CEO Vlad Tenev told Yahoo Finance that the company aims to be a comprehensive destination for managing wealth (see video above). He also noted that there is demand for home cash delivery as people seek to avoid ATM-related crimes, particularly in cities like San Francisco. The cash will be delivered in a large, unmarked envelope to customers' homes, Tenev explained.

Tenev didn't dismiss the possibility of pursuing a bank charter in the future. Although Robinhood explored the idea back in 2019, it was ultimately deemed too expensive.

Robinhood Strategies will offer a wealth management service with a 0.25% annual fee, capped at $250, for premium Gold members. With a minimum investment of just $50, users can access ETF portfolios managed by the company's investment experts, or a "private banker." For a $500 minimum investment, users will be able to access individual stocks within their portfolios.

TECH

Tech Tools to Elevate Your Human Experience

Of course, who doesn’t want to be Iron Man? Imagine always having the perfect gear for any situation. The problem is, not everyone has the genius and wealth of Tony Stark to create whatever they envision. However, thanks to recent advancements in robotics and technology, real-world companies are getting close to the kinds of gadgets seen in Stark Industries. Here are some of the most impressive superhuman devices available today.
Standing 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighing 160 pounds, the Apollo is the first commercial humanoid robot from Texas-based company Apptronik. The same team that developed NASA’s Valkyrie robot, which was designed for space exploration, has now created Apollo to be a practical, approachable helper for Earth-based tasks. Built to work safely alongside humans in warehouses and factories, Apollo can lift boxes, pick and place items, and assemble components. Looking ahead, it may even be used for home delivery and elder care. Equipped with 30 mechanical muscle groups, it can carry up to 55 pounds and features a swappable battery for continuous operation—something its human counterparts can’t quite match.

CRYPTO

When a Town Bet Big on Crypto—and Won

At a backyard barbecue in San Pedro, Argentina, last May, Rafael Flaiman noticed a friend sporting a light blue blazer that seemed a bit too fancy for the casual gathering. He couldn’t resist teasing him. "What’s with the jacket?" Flaiman asked.

"La China pays," his friend replied, flashing a proud grin.

"La China?" Flaiman was puzzled. He had grown up in San Pedro, a small, struggling riverside town of 70,000 people, and had worked as a reporter for 16 years at the local newspaper, La Opinión. But he’d never heard of anyone called La China — "the Chinese woman" in Spanish — and certainly didn’t understand why she had bought his friend such a stylish new blazer. As it turned out, a few of the 20 people at the barbecue knew exactly who La China was and eagerly explained the unusual way she had helped them make money.

Every weeknight around 9 p.m., they explained, La China would appear on the Telegram channel of a cryptocurrency exchange called RainbowEx. There, she would send out instructions to buy a particular cryptocurrency—usually a little-known and lightly traded "memecoin"—at a specific price. The message would also tell them when to sell the coin, which would almost always hit a higher price shortly afterward.