Can Robinhood's new Polygon-based crypto wallet catch on?

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Robinhood is down but not out. Once the hottest thing in fintech, the trading app's share price is at a sickly $9 and its revenue forecast is dismal, but it continues to innovate.

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The latest example is Robinhood's new self-custody crypto wallet, which launched in beta on Tuesday and offers users a way to prowl the world of DeFi and Web3 all while paying no gas fees.

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The wallet is currently available only to 10,000 customers who joined a waitlist, but Robinhood's product team gave me a tour of the new service on Monday.

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The wallet has a few curious features that I'll describe below, but also has a sleek and user-friendly design that's long been one of the company's hallmarks.

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This includes a tool to access one's private key using iCloud—a feature that might horrify some crypto purists, but will be deeply appreciated by ordinary users.

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Where the product—called simply Robinhood Wallet—feels odd is that it's build entirely on Polygon, the popular Layer 2 service for Ethereum, and does not let the wallet user transact on Ethereum itself.

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