Robinhood is launching its long-awaited crypto wallet next year and will begin testing the feature with users starting in October

Robinhood is launching its long-awaited crypto wallet next year and will begin testing the feature with users starting in October

Is launching its long-awaited cryptocurrency wallet early next year after the online brokerage firm fine-tunes the new product based on user feedback, cryptocurrency chief operating operator Christine Brown told Insider. The firm will test the new product as part of an "alpha program" in October. Alpha testing will enable Robinhood to give some users early access to pre-released versions of the app while receiving real-time comments. "We're building in public," Brown told Insider. "We're going to have a handful of select customers come in and build alongside us ... We're giving them the ability to actually shape what we end up releasing later on." The feedback they gather, Brown said, will be shared in the company's blog. The uncapped waitlist for the cryptocurrency wallet will be released on Wednesday ahead of the launch, she added. Robinhood's users have been waiting for a cryptocurrency wallet feature, and rivals and Gemini already offer their own. Although Robinhood users can trade cryptocurrencies, a wallet will allow them to manage their holdings within the app. At the moment, users cannot store, manage, or swap digital assets in and out of their accounts, making exchanges like Kraken and CEX.IO for crypto traders. But beginning October,