Robinhood slumps after crypto bill fails to advance
HOOD•Stock lags broader market this year
With the decline, HOOD's stock was down about 7% year to date, lagging the roughly 13% gain in the Nasdaq .IXIC and 3% advance in S&P 500 Financials .SPSY.
Clarity Act and DOJ charges add pressure
The Clarity Act aimed to create a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies, which the companies said would put them on a more solid legal footing.
Separately, the U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday charged two former HOOD engineers with insider trading after misappropriating confidential information.
The engineers, identified as Hefu Chai and Huaisong Xiang, allegedly bought perpetual futures linked to cryptocurrency tokens on the Hyperliquid derivatives exchange after learning that HOOD planned to list those tokens on its Robinhood Crypto digital trading platform, according to the statement.
The two staffers allegedly made more than $50,000 each from their trades.
Both were charged with wire fraud and commodities fraud; the wire fraud charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
Robinhood shares fall amid regulatory and legislative overhang
Retail trading platform Robinhood's HOOD.O shares were down 5% to a two-week low of $104.89 on Wednesday amid regulatory and legislative overhang.
HOOD's stock lost more than 3% on Tuesday, tracking a 4% drop in bitcoin BTC=, after the U.S. Senate failed to advance sweeping cryptocurrency legislation in a major blow for digital asset companies and Republicans who had championed the bill for months.
