Robinhood Experiences Cryptocurrency Trading Issues

‘We are experiencing issues with crypto trading,’ Robinhood said at 10:06 a.m. ET. ‘We are working to resolve this as soon as possible.’

Robinhood, the commission-free investment app that has gained a huge following among young investors, is having cryptocurrency trading difficulties Tuesday.

“We are experiencing issues with crypto trading,” the brokerage posted on its web site at 10:06 a.m. ET. “We are working to resolve this as soon as possible.”

DownDetector cited more than 1,800 user complaints for Robinhood Tuesday morning.

On April 15, Robinhood experienced a major outage for the trading of cryptocurrencies on its U.S. platform as crypto trading surged ahead of Coinbase’s IPO. 

Robinhood continues to face headwinds both from competitors and regulators, specifically in Massachusetts.

William Galvin, head of the Massachusetts Securities Division, said on April 16 in an administrative complaint that Robinhood has “continued a pattern of aggressively inducing and enticing trading among its customers, including Massachusetts customers, with little or no investment experience.”

Robinhood pushed back against Galvin, filing a lawsuit seeking to quash the new state rule that holds brokers accountable for a fiduciary standard of care, which means putting customers’ interests above their own.

Meanwhile, TheStreet.com founder Jim Cramer on Monday hit back at billionaire investor Warren Buffett’s criticism of retail investor-focused trading apps such as Robinhood, calling it “patronizing and denigrating” and based on anecdotal evidence.

“I think we need to encourage younger people to get into the market, and we need to help them when we do,” Cramer said “If we’re just going to sit here and tell people they should be in index funds, then I think we miss great opportunities for people.”

In March, Robinhood announced it’s planning an initial public offering.