Robinhood Snags Coveted S&P 500 Slot While MicroStrategy Gets Left Behind

Wall Street's establishment just handed Robinhood the ultimate validation—while giving Bitcoin maximalists the cold shoulder.

The Inclusion Game Changer

S&P Dow Jones Indices made the call that reshuffles the deck for mainstream investors. Robinhood's ascent to the S&P 500 marks a stunning reversal for the platform once dismissed as a 'meme stock casino.'

MicroStrategy's Crypto Bet Backfires

Michael Saylor's aggressive Bitcoin acquisition strategy wasn't enough to secure the institutional credibility that comes with S&P membership. The company's massive crypto holdings ultimately couldn't compensate for traditional financial metrics that index committees prioritize.

The New Guard Arrives

Robinhood's infrastructure upgrades and expanding product suite finally convinced gatekeepers that the trading app belongs with established giants. Their compliance overhaul and revenue diversification efforts paid off where speculative asset plays fell short.

Index funds managing trillions will now automatically allocate to HOOD—a brutal reminder that in traditional finance, sometimes the house wins even when you're not playing their game.

Robinhood, the popular trading platform, is all set to join the S&P 500, replacing Caesars Entertainment. Its stock jumped over 7% over the news. 

Robinhood is a major player in the U.S markets which has transformed retail trading by cutting commissions and making investing easy through its app. This has attracted a new generation of everyday investors and its entry into the S&P 500 is expected to lift the stock further.

Analysts note that this MOVE shows that the company is financially solid and now has the kind of credibility that attracts big institutional investors. It will officially join the index on September 22. 

Could Robinhood Become the S&P’s Top Performer?

Robinhood has a market cap of over $89 billion. One analyst had predicted that Robinhood or AppLovin had a strong chance at being added on September 5. The only possible drawback for Robinhood he noted was the index added another broker, Interactive Brokers (IBKR). 

But still, there is no rule against adding another. He also said that the firm could become the top-performing stock in the S&P 500, outpacing even Palantir (Nasdaq: PLTR).

Robinhood’s Explosive Growth

The company posted strong Q2 2025 results, which shows the rapid growth and rising influence in U.S. markets:

• Transaction-based revenue surged 65% to $539 million
• Crypto trading revenue rose 98% to $160 million
• Crypto trading volume climbed 32% to $28 billion
• Total platform assets climbed 99% to $279 billion, driven by equity and crypto gains.

In June, Robinhood completed its $200 million acquisition of Bitstamp and launched new crypto products, including 200+ tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs in Europe, crypto perpetual futures in the EU, and staking for U.S. customers.

MicroStrategy Misses Out On S&P

The S&P 500 includes 500 of the largest U.S. companies, and so far only two crypto-related firms have made it in – Coinbase and Jack Dorsey’s Block, in May and July respectively. 

Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) was also widely expected to join the S&P 500, given its size and status as the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin. However it was not included and its shares slipped nearly 3% in after-hours trading.

Jeff Park, CIO at ProCap BTC and former Bitwise executive explains that the exclusion was never about the company’s fundamentals but rather about the incentives and decision-making patterns of the S&P committee.

While Robinhood was always the stronger candidate this round, Strategy will eventually get its place in the index. 

With Robinhood’s inclusion, the S&P 500 could now have three crypto-linked companies: Coinbase, Block (Jack Dorsey’s company), and Robinhood.  

This highlights how much influence crypto companies are gaining.