Robinhood Rises 7%, Webull Climbs 4% as a Day Trading Rule Repeal Ignites Retail Crypto Orders

Retail brokers are catching a strong bid at midday Tuesday even as the underlying crypto tape barely budges. Robinhood Markets (NASDAQ:HOOD | HOOD Price Prediction) stock is up 7% to $110.97, while Webull (NASDAQ:BULL) stock is climbing 4% to $8.86. The trigger sits with Webull CEO Anthony Denier, who told CNBC that retail buy orders for the largest cryptocurrencies have exploded since the June 4 repeal of the pattern day trader rule.

That distinction matters for how the tape gets read today. Brokers earn on order flow and transaction volume, not on the price of the underlying coin. Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) is up only 0.4% over the past 24 hours, yet retail activity is spiking at the BTC price hovers near $80,000, and the money follows the volume.

The fund framing tells the story cleanly. The ARK Blockchain & Fintech Innovation ETF (CBOE:ARKF) is up 2% to $46.45, while the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (NASDAQ:IBIT) is up 0.6% to $44.92. Fintech brokers get the crypto-activity premium while the pure spot Bitcoin fund barely moves.

Retail Order Flow Ignites After PDT Repeal

Speaking on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street,” Denier stated, “We’re seeing over the past week and a half, we’re seeing almost a 300% increase in buy-side orders for the big cryptos, Bitcoin and ETH.” The old pattern day trader rule required $25,000 minimum equity for accounts making four or more day trades in five business days.