You would be forgiven as they expect public fintech companies that facilitate consumer trade to come under pressure this week. And yet the stock prices of two pandemic-era high flyers gained ground after reporting earnings. Coinbase and Robinhood up? In this economy? Yes.

Of the out-of-fashion tech sectors, consumer commerce should be one of the most important: most out of favor. Still.

australiabusinessblog.com wanted to better understand investor reaction to the results of both Coinbase (focused on cryptography) and Robinhood (focused on equities) to find out what drove each company’s stock higher in the wake of their reports. The answers, it turns out, are partially related.

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Ironically, some of the forces that have made consumer commerce less attractive are the same impulses that help the two companies generate more revenue from a previously less critical part of their business. The Federal Reserve takes away, and the Fed also gives back.