London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 18, 2025

Robinhood's CEO rejects his app allows for the 'gamification' of investing, and denies using rewards and confetti animation to encourage trading

Robinhood's CEO rejects his app allows for the 'gamification' of investing, and denies using rewards and confetti animation to encourage trading

"Even though we have made investing easier, we recognize it is not a game," Tenev said in his testimony ahead of a Congressional hearing.
Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev rejected claims his app allows for the "gamification" of investing.

Tenev, in his newly released testimony ahead of a Thursday Congressional hearing into January's GameStop trading frenzy, said Robinhood has made investing easier for a broader range of people. Tenev and his co-founder Baiju Bhatt said they created Robinhood, a commission-free investing site, to "democratize" finance.

"Even though we have made investing easier, we recognize it is not a game," Tenev said in the testimony.

Several industry experts and investors said the app takes advantage of its young and inexperienced user base by encouraging risky trades. A game developer previously told Insider Robinhood's use of free gifts, rewards for bringing in new users, and glowing colors can deepen users engagement and relationship with the app.

Regulators are also examining whether a "gamified" product design leads Robinhood users to make risky trades they don't fully understand.

The consequences of risky Robinhood use can be disastrous, some users said. One user told The New York Times he took out two home equity loans to buy and sell options, but ended up losing thousands of dollars. The parents of a 20-year-old who died by suicide after thinking he lost $730,000 filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Robinhood earlier this month.

According to Tenev's testimony, Robinhood has encouraged investing among young people, people of color, and first-time traders. The median age of Robinhood users is 31 and half of customers identify as first-time investors. Black and Latino users represented 9% and 16% of Robinhood customers, respectively.

Robinhood makes money through payment for order flows, or by taking the buy and sell orders that users place and selling them directly to large trading firms. The business model means Robinhood benefits the more users make trades.

One December 16 complaint filed against Robinhood claims the company used visual strategies, including confetti celebrations, when users make trades, to "gamefy" trading and encourage repetitive use of the app.

Tenev said in his testimony the app uses confetti animation "sparingly" to celebrate milestone events. He denied that Robinhood used levels or rewards to encourage more trading.

"I am confident that the easy-to-use interface enables customers to understand, control, and direct their finances in a responsible way," he said.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Macron and his wife to provide 'scientific photographic evidence' that she is a real woman
US Tech Giants Pledge Billions to UK AI Infrastructure Following Starmer's Call
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
DeepMind and OpenAI Achieve Gold at ‘Coding Olympics’ in AI Milestone
SEC Allows Public Companies to Block Investors from Class-Action Lawsuits
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Federal Reserve Cuts Rates by Quarter Point and Signals More to Come
Effective and Impressive Generation Z Protest: Images from the Riots in Nepal
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Trump: Cancel quarterly company reports and settle for reporting once every six months
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
US Launches New Pilot Program to Accelerate eVTOL Air Taxi Deployment
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
×