Virtu Financial and Partners Invest in New Options Intermediary to Compete for Retail Order Flow
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: Jan 14 2026
0mins
Should l Buy HOOD?
Source: seekingalpha
- Investment in New Intermediary: Virtu Financial, Akuna Capital, Belvedere Trading, and Optiver have collectively invested in a new options intermediary, Optimal Market Technologies, aiming to acquire order flow from retail brokers and challenge Citadel Securities' market dominance.
- Increased Market Competition: The four firms will lead a larger group of liquidity providers competing for order flow routed from trading apps used by small-scale traders, thereby enhancing market competitiveness and boosting their profitability.
- Regulatory Approval Progress: Optimal has received approval from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, but it has yet to secure final approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to create an alternative trading system, which will impact its market operations' timing and efficiency.
- Growth in Order Flow Payments: According to Bloomberg Intelligence, order flow payments across U.S. equities and options surged 51% year-over-year to $1.24 billion in Q3 2025, indicating that retail brokers continue to thrive in a low-commission environment.
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Analyst Views on HOOD
Wall Street analysts forecast HOOD stock price to rise
20 Analyst Rating
16 Buy
4 Hold
0 Sell
Strong Buy
Current: 75.210
Low
130.00
Averages
156.24
High
181.00
Current: 75.210
Low
130.00
Averages
156.24
High
181.00
About HOOD
Robinhood Markets, Inc. is creating a financial services platform for everyone, regardless of their wealth, income, or background. It uses technology to provide access to the financial system. Its offerings include Brokerage, Robinhood Crypto, Custody, Robinhood Wallet, Robinhood Gold, and Robinhood Gold Card. Its Brokerage services include investing, options trading, fractional trading, recurring investment, access to investing on margin, fully paid securities lending, cash sweep, instant withdrawals, Robinhood retirement, 24-hour market, joint investing accounts, and event contracts. It also offers a variety of ways for its customers to grow their financial knowledge, including Robinhood Learn, In-App Education, Newsfeeds, Sherwood Snacks, and Crypto Learn and Earn. Its self-clearing system, order routing system, data platform, and other back-end infrastructure deliver the capabilities that allow its customers to focus on investing, saving and spending.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
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Investment Opportunity: The IPO aims to provide investors with an opportunity to participate in the fund's growth and investment strategy.
See More
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- Robinhood Options Volume: Robinhood Markets Inc saw options trading volume of 153,085 contracts, representing approximately 15.3 million underlying shares, which is about 41.5% of its average daily trading volume of 36.9 million shares over the past month, indicating strong investor interest in the stock.
- High Volume Contracts: Notably, the $80 strike call option expiring on February 20, 2026, has seen 12,436 contracts traded today, equating to approximately 1.2 million underlying shares, suggesting a bullish outlook on Robinhood's future performance.
- Royal Caribbean Options Activity: In parallel, Royal Caribbean Group experienced options trading volume of 10,645 contracts, representing around 1.1 million underlying shares, or about 41.4% of its average daily trading volume of 2.6 million shares over the past month, reflecting active trading in the stock.
- Key Contract Insights: Particularly, the $360 strike call option expiring on March 20, 2026, has seen 4,035 contracts traded today, representing approximately 403,500 underlying shares, indicating investor confidence in Royal Caribbean's growth prospects.
See More
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- Real-Time Data Advantage: A joint study by Fed economists and researchers from Northwestern and Johns Hopkins reveals that Kalshi's real-time predictions on key economic data significantly outperform Bloomberg consensus forecasts, particularly in CPI, highlighting its potential in market forecasting.
- Perfect Prediction Record: Kalshi has maintained a perfect track record in rate predictions the day before each FOMC meeting since 2022, indicating its accuracy in rate expectations significantly surpasses that of fed funds futures, which could alter decision-making for market participants.
- Expanding Market Influence: As prediction markets become the preferred tool for traders and policymakers, Kalshi's growth potential is immense, especially through its partnership with Robinhood, granting access to over 27 million active accounts and further solidifying its market position.
- Competitive Pressure: The rise of Kalshi poses a threat to traditional sports betting companies like Flutter Entertainment, which has seen its stock drop over 44% this year, demonstrating the disruptive impact of prediction markets on existing business models and prompting the industry to reassess its strategic direction.
See More
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- Robinhood Customer Growth: In 2025, Robinhood's customer base grew by 7% year-over-year to over 27 million, while average revenue per user surged by 16%, indicating the company's ability to attract new clients while enhancing customer value, thereby strengthening its market competitiveness.
- Revenue and Profit Growth: Robinhood's revenue increased by 27% year-over-year, and despite a 38% drop in cryptocurrency revenue due to Bitcoin's slump, the trading volume in its prediction markets reached 8.5 billion in Q4, showcasing the company's growth potential in new business areas.
- Nu Holdings Market Leadership: As the largest online bank in Latin America, Nu Holdings serves over 60% of adults in Brazil, achieving a 39% year-over-year revenue growth in Q3 2025, with customer numbers rising to 127 million, reflecting its strong performance in a rapidly growing market.
- Margin Improvement: Nu Holdings' net income surged by 41% year-over-year, securing a net profit margin of 41%, while customer balances in credit cards and loans rose by 45% and 58%, respectively, indicating a promising outlook for the company in terms of high-growth product lines and rising margins.
See More
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- Market Valuation Recovery: Robinhood and Circle have seen their stock prices drop 50% and 75% from record highs, respectively, yet analysts believe both are undervalued, with Robinhood's target price set at $160 per share, indicating a potential 113% upside from its current price of $75.
- Young Investor Advantage: Robinhood boasts nearly twice the number of millennial and Gen Z accounts compared to its closest competitor, Vanguard, positioning the company for growth as this demographic matures and accumulates wealth, thereby expanding its market share across cryptocurrencies and equities.
- Stablecoin Market Expansion: Circle's USDC is the second-largest stablecoin, with projections suggesting the market could grow from $315 billion to $2 trillion by 2030, representing an annual growth rate of 45%, which provides robust support for Circle's revenue growth.
- Payment Network Innovation: The Circle Payments Network aims to offer faster and cheaper services than traditional cross-border payment systems, particularly benefiting multinational companies for payroll and supplier payments, and is expected to drive revenue growth at a rate exceeding 30% in the coming years.
See More
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Test Phase Launch: Developers can access testnet-only assets, including 'Stock Tokens' tied to major companies like Tesla and Amazon, during the initial launch phase of the Robinhood Chain, which processed four million transactions in its first week.
Market Sentiment: Despite a higher overnight trade for HOOD's stock, retail sentiment has turned bearish, indicating a decline in confidence among investors over the past day.
Real-World Asset Interest: There is a growing interest in tokenized real-world assets (RWAs), with firms like Grayscale Investments highlighting it as a primary sector to watch in 2026, as total value locked in decentralized finance platforms approaches $96.5 billion.
Investment Commitment: Robinhood has committed $1 million to the 2026 Arbitrum Open House program, integrating with various infrastructure providers to enhance its network capabilities.
See More
