By Marcus Henry 2/10/2018 In a bold move to attract United States crypto investors into the stock market game, Robinhood ; a traditional stock trading app for iOS and Android entered the crypto market to compete with the likes of Coinbase and Binance . The stock-trading platform currently allows crypto trades and shows real-time crypto prices for Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC) and about a dozen other altcoins. To help stay competitive, Robinhood is offering people who sign up with their referral link a free stock. Some of the stocks up for grabs include Apple, Ford, AMD, Microsoft and Sprint and range in values up to $500 according to the stock trading platform.When you do sign up and confirm your bank information, then make your first deposit into the app (mine was only for $0.01); you will get a chance to claim your free stock. In my case, I got a stock for Chesapeake Energy (CHK), which is worth $2.84 as I am writing this article.You have a 1 in 150 chance of even getting any blue chip stocks such as Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, GE, Ford or AMD. While you can just go and cash out your stock after two days of the stock sitting in your account, the message from the stock-trading establishment is clear; they want crypto investors to think about diversifying into the stock market. Being that many of these crypto investors are Millennials, it also stands clear that the intention is to get younger investors to continue to fund the stock market establishment. Meanwhile, other crypto exchanges must adapt to the new competition in the market. Coinbase still offers their free $10 in Bitcoin (BTC) when you sign up with their referral link and spend at least $100, which may end up being a better deal in the end, given my free $2.84 stock investment. However, Coinbase has come under fire in recent months for speculation of insider trading as it rolled out buying and selling of B-Cash (BCH). Further, many in the crypto community viewed the timing of the rollout of BCH with the timing of Bitcoin futures hitting the market as more than suspect, leading many folks to leave Coinbase in a mass exodus to the now-famous Binance Exchange . Coinbase is actively trying to repair their image and speculation of some damage repair being imminent is circulating in the crypto community. Binance has also had its troubles, but does prove to be drastically improving its operations in recent months. Needless to say, many crypto companies are struggling with scaling to accommodate for the growing demands from new investors hitting the market with big chunks of money to spend. Binance is no exception to this case, and might have been hit the hardest with their gaining of more business than they could handle. For months, Binance had to close off registration for new accounts as new customers overwhelmed their servers. Still, the company shows resiliency, and has some pretty cool contests and opportunities, such as chances to win a Lambo, or you can also get 20% of trade fees when you refer your friend to join. Robinhood may want their new crypto customers to see a bigger picture involving a place where traditional investments like stocks can exists along with cryptos, but is their plan going to work? Crypto investors have traditionally been viewed as anti-establishment and anti-fiat money. Will this younger generation of investors see potential in the stock market and traditional assets? Will their perceptions change and they will see that buying into the stock market does not mean selling out to the establishment? Time and the investors will decide. “The only thing that is certain is that interesting times are ahead. HODL on to your seats.” –Marcus Henry