PFOF economics
Robinhood sends orders to wholesalers (Citadel, Virtu) who pay for the flow. That + interest on balances = revenue. Users pay $0.
PFOF economics
Robinhood sends orders to wholesalers (Citadel, Virtu) who pay for the flow. That + interest on balances = revenue. Users pay $0.
Real-time market data
Consolidated tape (SIP) is delayed 15 min for free retail data. Robinhood buys pro-grade feed, streams to users.
Order routing
Retail orders go to wholesale market makers. Not exchanges directly. Wholesalers give price improvement + speed vs displayed markets.
Clearing via third party
Apex Clearing handled trades historically. Robinhood built its own clearinghouse (Robinhood Clearing) to reduce dependencies.
Crypto custody separate
Crypto trading via separate infrastructure. Custody wallet holds coins. Different regulatory + operational model than equities.