Trading Bitcoin on Robinhood? Why 2% Spread Has Traders Worried

Robinhood's default route for crypto orders costs close to 2% to buy and then sell Bitcoin (BTC). The company's own disclosures show the charge sits inside the price rather than arriving as a fee.

Delphi Digital co-founder Tommy Shaughnessy surfaced the figure this week. He posted a screenshot showing a Bitcoin spread of $1,426.03, then asked Robinhood's chief executive to explain it.

Where the 2% Cost Comes From

The spread is the gap between the price to buy an asset and the price to sell it. That gap is where Robinhood gets paid.

The default setting, called market maker routing, sends crypto orders to an outside trading firm instead of an exchange. Robinhood Crypto receives $0.95 for every $100 of volume routed that way.

That payment sits inside the quoted prices. Buyers pay the higher number and sellers receive the lower one. A round trip therefore costs close to 2% before the market moves.

What the Screenshot Showed

Shaughnessy's agent quoted a bid of $75,361.72 against an ask of $76,787.76 on Thursday. That gap came to 1.87%, which he called criminal for an asset this size.

"for anyone doing agentic crypto trades on Robinhood from the jump you are using the default market making approach so you are going to effectively pay 1% to buy and 1% to sell...," wrote Shaughnessy.