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Robinhood (HOOD) co-founder and CEO Vlad Tenev indicated on Tuesday he's growing bullish on lawmakers pushing through stablecoin legislation this year.
"I think so," Tenev said when asked on Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid podcast if the industry will get stablecoin legislation this year (see video above). "I mean, there's already a stablecoin bill circulating, and there was one before the election as well. So I think this seems to be an issue where there's more alignment."
Stablecoins are less volatile cryptocurrencies backed by US dollars.
Earlier this year, top lawmakers such as Republican Sen. Tim Scott — who leads the Senate Banking Committee — announced a working group to accelerate the timeline on important components of digital asset legislation. Scott is working with the Trump administration's crypto czar and Silicon Valley investor David Sacks.
Republican Sen. Bill Hagerty recently introduced a bill to regulate stablecoins, called the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act.
"I think the real thing with stablecoins is we need to figure out a better way to have them pass on interest," Tenev said. "We're in a high-interest environment. A lot of the leading stablecoins don't have a good way of doing that."
Read more: 5 smart ways to use a high-yield savings account
"I think that's an opportunity for furthering more adoption," Tenev continued. "If you could easily get 4% on your stablecoin, now you not only have a reason to transact in it when you're doing crypto, but you now have reason to keep your money in that stablecoin. At least it matches keeping your money in a high-yield savings account, which I think is very, very powerful. So I think that that's kind of the next frontier."
For Robinhood, the introduction of a stablecoin would likely add another vector of growth for the platform.
In January, the trading platform debuted futures and index options trading, following the debut of election contracts ahead of last year's presidential election.
The company has since released Robinhood Legend, billed as a sleeker platform that targets more sophisticated traders.
Robinhood Legend allows users to open up to eight charts in a single window and elevates various technical indicators, such as Bollinger Bands.
Last year, Robinhood acquired crypto exchange Bitstamp in June and scooped up AI-powered investment research firm Pluto in July. It also launched a credit card offering 3% cash back in March, taking aim at credit players American Express (AXP) and Visa (V).
Read more: Robinhood Gold Credit Card review: 3% cash back for investors
Robinhood's business could grow by 10 times over the next 10 years by widening its product reach, the company laid out at a December investor day. It estimates futures trading will become a nine-figure business over time.
"We believe investors enjoy the Robinhood cryptobeta, but appreciate Robinhood also for its relentless product velocity within a broader financial ecosystem strategy," Bernstein analyst Gautam Chhugani wrote in a client note.
Chhugani has an Outperform rating on Robinhood shares with a $105 price target, which assumes the stock will more than double from current trading levels.
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Three times each week, I field insight-filled conversations and chats with the biggest names in business and markets on Opening Bid. You can find more episodes on our video hub or watch on your preferred streaming service.
Brian Sozzi is Yahoo Finance's Executive Editor. Follow Sozzi on X @BrianSozzi, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Tips on stories? Email brian.sozzi@yahoofinance.com.
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