Analyst Says Sam Bankman-Fried's Robinhood Stake Signals 'Strong Support'

FTX founder and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried’s 7.6% position in Robinhood Markets Inc HOOD is a signal of “strong support” for the trading platform popular with retail traders, according to Ark Investment Management analyst Max Friedrich.

What Happened: Friedrich noted that Bankman-Fried filed a 13D filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, typically associated with activist investors, unlike 13G filings which are indicative of passive holdings.

“Bankman-Fried's move seems to be a strong signal of support for Robinhood now that its share price has dropped 70% from its IPO last July,” the analyst from Cathie-Wood-led Ark Invest said in a note.

See Also: How To Buy Shares On Robinhood (HOOD) 

Why it Matters: Friedrich noted that FTX and Coinbase Global, Inc COIN have different equities strategies: FTX plans to offer equity trading on its platform and its president recently showcased a trade of Apple Inc AAPL stock on its platform. On the other hand, Coinbase does not plan to offer "traditional securities” unless it helps foster cryptocurrency adoption, according to Friedrich.

After Coinbase released its first-quarter numbers last week, Ark raised its exposure to the company. Coinbase’s net loss in the period came in at $430 million compared with a $771 profit a year earlier.

It allows users to buy, sell and hold coins like Bitcoin BTC/USD, Ethereum ETH/USD and Dogecoin DOGE/USD.

Wood sees opportunities in Coinbase, as she sees it as having no exposure to the beleaguered Terra (LUNA) ecosystem.

Price Action: On Monday, Robinhood shares closed 5.4% lower at $10.11 in the regular session and rose 0.8% in the after-hours trading, while Coinbase dropped 9.1% in regular trading and spiked 6.4% after the bell, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

Read Next: Vitalik Buterin Sends 500 Ethereum (ETH) Coins To Dogecoin Foundation

Photo courtesy: Cointelegraph on Wikimedia