Robinhood adds AI agents, perps and weekend trading

Robinhood unveiled AI-powered trading agents, leveraged crypto perpetual futures, and weekend trading for select U.S. stocks and ETFs through Bruce ATS at the HOOD Summit in Houston, Texas, according to reporting from CoinDesk. The company’s push aims to capture heavy trading activity from frequent investors as competition intensifies among brokerages offering longer hours and higher-risk products.

AI Trading Agents and Automated Loops

Customers can create an in-app AI trading agent by choosing a model from OpenAI or Anthropic and linking it to a separate trading account, as reported by CoinDesk. More than 150,000 agentic accounts have been created since Robinhood opened its trading infrastructure to outside AI agents earlier this year, generating millions of tool calls daily.

The embedded version of the agent removes technical setup hurdles while handling market analysis, watchlist creation, and trading across stocks, options, and crypto. A feature called Loops allows customers to give an agent standing instructions to monitor markets and execute strategies automatically when specific conditions occur.

Robinhood defaults to requiring customers to approve every trade an agent proposes, though users can turn that protection off, according to senior director of product management Gina Pasqua-Abeles. I would think of the agent as an extension, like a trading tool that’s mainly for research that can execute trades, Pasqua-Abeles said, adding that the company expects users to maintain oversight. Agents cannot borrow on margin at launch and can access only money placed in their dedicated account.

Expanded Market Access and Perpetual Futures

Robinhood is introducing crypto perpetual futures with margins of up to 10 times, extending options trading hours, offering increased intraday margin, and adding contracts linked to corporate earnings metrics through Cboe. To bridge the weekend gap in equity trading, the platform plans to offer Saturday and Sunday trading in select U.S. stocks and ETFs through Bruce ATS, an alternative trading system.

The platform is also selling access to outside data that agents can incorporate into decisions, including options data from Unusual Whales, market data from Nasdaq, crypto data from Token Terminal, and government activity tracked by Quiver Quantitative.

Broker Rivalry for Active Retail Investors

Vice president of product management Abhishek Fatehpuria stated that becoming the top platform for active traders is a priority, noting that the company is not focused on a single asset class. More assets, and then more hours, Fatehpuria said, describing the platform’s overall strategy.

The expansion reflects rising competition for active traders who expect near-continuous trading shaped by crypto exchange habits. Traditional brokerages, including Charles Schwab, Interactive Brokers, and Fidelity, have also expanded product lineups to meet that demand, while the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq have filed to expand trading hours.