Public is a commission-free stock trading app with a prominent social media element in the United States. The app is available for download in both iOS and Android mobile phones. The financial upstart which launched in 2019 is now pushing relentlessly into the crypto market.
Crypto on Public
The Robinhood look-alike announced on Thursday that its members would be able to buy and sell Crypto in the same app they use to manage their stock market portfolios. This changes will roll out gradually.
Notably, the first users to enjoy this functionality would be every account holder with the company except those in New York state due to a BitLicense issue. However, the company is optimistic that soon the crypto feature will be available to the residents.
In relation to this, the company put out a statement on Medium that reads;
“All our members can find the cryptos we offer via the Explore tab and will be able to see relevant information about each, add to Watchlist, and invest with as little as $1 when the feature is available to them.”
And in another email sent to Insider, Mary Alexa D., Public’s director of product, in her own words, said,
“We’re excited to offer crypto investing paired with the unique content, context, and community that our members love about Public.”
For a start, the app would incorporate only ten currencies. And they would include Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ethereum Classic (ETC), Litecoin (LTC), Dash (DASH), Stellar (XLM), Cardano (ADA), Zcash (ZEC), and Dogecoin (DOGE).
In the announcement, Public went on to say, that this crypto trading feature would be made possible through a collaboration with Apex Crypto. Apex Crypto would manage the back-end operations of the digital currency, which included custody services and execution.
Fortunes for Public
Public has been doing well for itself and its users generally. Especially since last February, when it grew to surpass the one million user mark.
Consequently, in the same month, Public secured $220 million as additional funding to cross the $1 billion valuation mark. And the company also scrapped the payment for order flow (PFOF) practice that sees brokerage platforms routing orders to market makers for trade execution rather than sending the same straight to exchanges. A move that was welcomed with gladness by its users.
In announcing its crypto plans, Public said it was working towards creating its crypto wallet in the future. An announcement that, just like the rest, was made through its social media platform. This plan by Public to have their crypto wallet is against Robinhood, which recently unveiled their new crypto wallet.
Finally, it is important to note how the company is using the social media as a tool for customer retention, advertising and marketing. Public, is implementing the social media strategy to attract young and first-time investors to its business. While, this young audience buys and sells stocks, Public encourages them to share on their platform what they bought and sold. A move to encourage the other users to buy and sell. Hence, profits increase.