Robinhood’s Steve Quirk: Two weeks of net selling at the end of July

Watch on YouTube ↗  |  August 18, 2026 at 20:11  |  4:36  |  CNBC
Speakers
Steve Quirk — Chief Brokerage Officer, Robinhood
Kelly Evans — Anchor, The Exchange (CNBC)

Summary

Robinhood Chief Brokerage Officer Steve Quirk discusses late-July retail flow, highlighting unusual two-week net selling by younger customers as profit-taking and caution around geopolitics and yields. He also notes persistent structural retail demand for Bitcoin through recurring investments and explains the growth of perpetual futures products.

  • Robinhood customers showed two weeks of net selling at the end of July despite stocks nearing highs.
  • Quirk says the average Robinhood customer is early 30s and usually a net buyer/accumulator.
  • He attributes the selling to profit-taking after strong gains and caution about geopolitics and yields.
  • Bitcoin has been the most popular recurring investment on Robinhood for five years.
  • Bitcoin is the second most active prediction market account after sports.
  • Robinhood offers perpetual futures in Europe but not in the US.
  • Perpetual futures remove expiration, delivery risk, and roll costs.
Ideas
Steve Quirk Chief Brokerage Officer, Robinhood 0:37
Unusual retail net selling signals caution.
Robinhood's early-30s customers are normally consistent accumulators, so two weeks of net selling at the end of July even as stocks approached highs is notable. Quirk attributes the selling to profit-taking after significant gains and to nervousness about geopolitics and yields, framing it as caution/trimming rather than a bearish collapse.
SPY MED
Steve Quirk Chief Brokerage Officer, Robinhood 2:57
Bitcoin remains top recurring retail investment.
Bitcoin has been the most popular instrument in Robinhood's recurring investment program for the last five years, and younger retail investors continue to want directional exposure to it. Quirk interprets this as a fundamental, structural bet by this age group on Bitcoin's success even when price volatility is low.
BTC HIGH
Up Next
3:37
Key retail earnings reporting this week: The committee's retail strategy
CNBC · Aug 18
0:20
Nobody Compares to Ansem
Thread Guy · Aug 18
26:09
Oil to $120? Iran Could Trigger the Next Stock Market Shock | David Woo
Wealthion · Aug 18
3:52
Bitcoin Whales Add 43,000 Bitcoin in 60 Days
Bloomberg Markets · Aug 18
51:20
Trump Takes Hard Line on Iran | Radio Balance of Power: Early Edition 8/18/2026
Bloomberg Markets · Aug 18

This CNBC video, published August 18, 2026, features Steve Quirk discussing SPY, BTC. 2 trade ideas extracted by AI with direction and confidence scoring.

Speakers: Steve Quirk  · Tickers: SPY, BTC