Robinhood starts rolling out crypto wallets to 1,000 people on its 1.6 million-strong waitlist

• Robinhood launched the beta version of its crypto wallet, rolling it out to 1,000 people on the wait list.
• 1.6 million people have signed up to be able to manage crypto holdings within the Robinhood app.
• Beta testers have daily limits of $2,999 in withdrawals and 10 transactions, and must have extra login security.

Robinhood Markets has launched a beta version of its long-awaited cryptocurrency wallet program for the first 1,000 customers from its waiting list of 1.6 million, the retail trading platform said Thursday.

Customers will be able to send crypto from their Robinhood accounts to external wallets, and vice-versa, in the Crypto Wallets Beta Program, it said.

Those beta testers will have a daily limit of $2,999 in total withdrawals and 10 transactions, and they will need to enable two-factor authentication when signing in.

"Beta testers will help us test core functionality and provide critical feedback to inform the final version of the product," Robinhood said.

The wallets will "fully connect Robinhood crypto holders to the greater blockchain ecosystem for the very first time," according to a company description.

Robinhood is popular among retail investors and benefited from a surge in crypto activity among its customers last year. The trading app provider introduced crypto trading services in 2018.

For now, the investing app offers seven types of digital assets, including bitcoin, ethereum, and dogecoin.

The beta program is set to expand to 10,000 customers by March this year and will then roll out to the rest of the WenWallets waitlist.

Robinhood will also allow customers to calculate the amount of crypto to send or receive in dollars.

It has set up safety features for the program on its app and platform. Security integrations will be monitoring all transactions to ensure "customers are able to both safely invest and transfer their crypto," it said.

The beta phase follows months of "alpha phase" development and testing.

"Through our alpha program, we sought feedback from a tight-knit group of customers from our wallets waitlist," the company said.

Robinhood users can trade crypto through the platform, but cannot store, manage, or swap digital assets in and out of their accounts. A crypto wallet will allow them to manage their holdings within the app.

Rivals Coinbase and Gemini already offer their own such services.

Chief product officer Aparna Chennapragada said the phased rollout of the wallet was deliberate. In September, she said Robinhood was prioritizing three things backed by research: general accessibility, product safety, and customer feedback.

With this program, Chennapragada said Robinhood is building towards its vision of being a one-stop shop where people can trade stocks and cryptocurrencies.