Robinhood Will Trade Stocks 24/7 Like Crypto. Does Bitcoin Lose Its Weekend Edge?
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Robinhood Markets (NASDAQ:HOOD | HOOD Price Prediction) has announced plans to offer 24/7 trading for certain U.S. stocks and ETFs, including on weekends. This move could take away one of Bitcoin‘s (CRYPTO:BTC) unique selling points: its ability to trade every hour of every day, while traditional stocks stop trading on Friday evening.
Robinhood shared these plans at its HOOD Summit in Houston on September 29, 2026, with weekend trading expected to launch soon, pending regulatory approval. This raises the question: what happens to Bitcoin’s status as the “market that never sleeps” once stocks can also be traded on Saturday nights?
Robinhood Plans Weekend Stock Trading Through Bruce ATS, Pending Approval
Robinhood currently allows trading from Sunday at 8 p.m. ET to Friday at 8 p.m. ET. The new plan will extend trading hours to include Saturdays and Sundays through an alternative trading system (ATS) called Bruce ATS, backed by PEAK6, Robinhood, and Nasdaq Ventures.
In addition to weekend stock trading, Robinhood is also introducing AI trading agents and crypto perpetual futures. These contracts, which never expire, will be available for Bitcoin, Ethereum (CRYPTO:ETH), Solana (CRYPTO:SOL), XRP (CRYPTO:XRP), and several other cryptocurrencies, allowing up to 10x leverage on Bitcoin and Ethereum, and up to 3x on the others. Some stocks are also already traded around the clock as tokenized versions on the Solana blockchain.
Weekend Stock Trading Could Run Thin, Just Like Weekend Crypto
While weekend trading sounds appealing, it often runs into challenges. With major exchanges and professional traders mostly inactive during weekends, there are typically fewer buyers and sellers. This can widen spreads—the difference between the best buy and sell prices—meaning weekend traders may pay more than they would on a busier weekday.
Bitcoin shares this challenge. During weekends, professional trading slows down, which can cause significant price swings. Additionally, spot Bitcoin ETFs can only trade when stock markets are open, making market movements even more pronounced during quieter periods.
Bitcoin’s Weekend Edge Has Never Protected Its Price
Despite the changes ahead, Bitcoin’s intrinsic qualities still set it apart. Bitcoin trades globally without a broker and has no closing bell. However, trading 24/7 has not necessarily protected its price.
As of October 2, Bitcoin was priced at $85,975 after a 35% increase over 90 days but was still down about 3% in 2026 and 29% over the past year. Someone who invested $1,000 in Bitcoin a year ago would now have roughly $713, even with Bitcoin available to trade every hour.
Does Robinhood 24/7 Trading Cost Bitcoin Its Weekend Edge?
With Robinhood’s new 24/7 trading, Bitcoin might lose its weekend marketing tagline, but its core weekend trading advantage remains intact. Bitcoin remains unique in that it trades without a broker or a closing bell, and its weekend performance hasn’t been significantly driven by its continuous availability.
However, more trading opportunities could lead to increased speculation and volatility in thinner markets. If Bitcoin starts to respond similarly to weekend stock prices once Robinhood’s trading sessions go live, it could blur the distinction between crypto and traditional markets. Conversely, if Bitcoin preserves its independent trading behavior over the weekend, it might maintain its unique edge in the financial landscape.
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Sam Daodu is a crypto analyst and the editor of 24/7 Wall St.'s Crypto Desk, where he covers Bitcoin, XRP, Ethereum, Solana and the altcoins investors search for most. His work focuses on price levels, spot ETF flows, on-chain data and the regulatory decisions that move crypto markets, written so a first-time buyer and a seasoned trader can both use it.
Sam has written about crypto professionally since 2019 and has published more than 2,000 articles. Before joining 24/7 Wall St., he wrote for crypto media outlets and Web3 companies and ghostwrote for crypto founders and token launches. His analysis is syndicated on Yahoo Finance, MSN and AOL and has been cited by other crypto news sites. He also founded MacLabs Marketing, a content and personal branding agency for crypto founders and executives.
When he isn't reading charts, Sam is usually at the gym or watching One Piece, a series he maintains has better tokenomics than most altcoins.
