The technology story: markets are extending their hours, and agents will need credentials to use them
The most concrete AI claim in our verified material is not about a trading algorithm. It is about identity. Baselayer, a San Francisco startup that helps financial institutions verify businesses and assess fraud risk, has raised $35 million to extend its identity technology to AI agents, in a Series A led by M13.1 Its pitch is that software agents acting for people and companies will need to prove who they act for. Co-founder voice Jonathan Awad put it bluntly: unless agents can establish they are acting on behalf of legitimate people or businesses, "agents will just get blocked everywhere."1
Awad also described the trust problem in plain terms: "Agents spin up and they spin down. How can you trust this random one-task agent?"1 That matters for any plan to let agents trade, pay or shop. A human account has a history. A one-task agent that exists for minutes has none.
The market side: longer hours and new contract types
The venues are building the always-on plumbing that agents would use. Nasdaq says the industry's move to a 23-hour trading day is expected on Sunday, December 6, 2026. That date depends on SIP readiness and SEC rule changes. Subject to SEC approval, Nasdaq would add a 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. ET session.2 (The SIP is the shared system that distributes quotes and trades across US exchanges.) Both conditions are still open as of this writing.
Separately, Cboe announced at Robinhood's third annual HOOD Summit in Houston that it plans to launch binary contracts tied to company-specific key performance indicators. They are expected in October 2026, subject to regulatory approval. Robinhood would be the first retail broker to offer them.3 The announcement says products tied to 23 companies would roll out.3 Our material does not confirm that the launch has happened, so treat it as planned.
One caution about that source. Via News measures the reliability of the wire feed that carried both the Cboe announcement and the LY Corp summary below. Of 6,584 claims checked, 54% held up.3,4 That is a coin-flip-adjacent record, so we lean on primary statements and SEC-verified data wherever we can.
Robinhood: the verified financial backdrop
Robinhood is the retail channel in the Cboe partnership, so its SEC-filed figures show how much room it has to build. Revenue rose from $1.865 billion in fiscal 2023 to $2.951 billion in 2024 and $4.473 billion in 2025, more than doubling in two years.5 Net income swung from a loss of $541 million in 2023 to profits of $1.411 billion in 2024 and $1.883 billion in 2025.5 Earnings per share went from -$0.61 to $1.56 to $2.05 over the same years.5
Cash from operations was less steady: $1.181 billion in 2023, a negative $157 million in 2024, then $1.638 billion in 2025.5 Stockholders' equity grew from $6.696 billion to $7.972 billion between 2023 and 2024.5
For a technology reader, the spending line is the telling one. Research and development was $349 million in 2023, $323 million in 2024 and $355 million in 2025.5 So spending on building product stayed nearly flat while revenue grew 2.4 times. That figure is total R&D. Our dossier does not break out how much, if any, goes to AI, so we cannot say Robinhood is spending on agents. We can only say the company has become profitable without raising its build budget much.
Cash held at the end of fiscal 2025 was $4.261 billion, down from $4.835 billion at the end of 2023.5 The most recent quarter in our data, Q2 2026, shows $5.362 billion.5
Where sources disagree
One discrepancy deserves mention. Two records for Robinhood's cash on September 30, 2025 differ: one says $4.331 billion and the other $4.3 billion. The gap is a rounding difference of roughly $31 million. We use the SEC-sourced figure of $4.331 billion for Q3 2025.5 It is small, but it shows why we check numbers against the filing rather than a summary.
AI in commerce: LY Corp's guidance
The clearest case of AI tied to company results in our material is LY Corp, the Japanese internet group. On its earnings call on November 5, 2026, it raised full-year guidance for revenue, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EPS and dividend.6 (Adjusted EBITDA is a profit measure before interest, taxes and depreciation.) The headline of the summary we relied on ties the raise to AI.4 The body we hold does not itemise how much AI contributed, so we can't put a number on it.
The figures themselves are specific. Revenue guidance moved from JPY2.24 trillion to JPY2.33 trillion, up 14.8% year on year.4 Adjusted EBITDA guidance rose from JPY585 billion to JPY640 billion, up 28.9%.4 Adjusted EPS guidance went from JPY30 to JPY35, with more than half already achieved.4 The annual dividend rose from JPY11 to JPY12 per share.4 Second-quarter revenue grew 11.5% and adjusted EBITDA 20.9%.4
Within that, commerce revenue is forecast at JPY1.06 trillion with adjusted EBITDA up 33.6%, and Strategic Business adjusted EBITDA is forecast at JPY160 billion, up 69.1%.4 The company also expects sustainable double-digit profit growth next fiscal year, supported by structural cost cuts and growth from cumulative businesses such as LYP Premium and LINE Official Account.4 We do not have a comparison in our material to help readers picture a trillion yen, and we won't invent one. Read the percentages, not the totals.
The enterprise-software angle
Sean Jacobsohn of Norwest, speaking on how he assesses founders, said: "I think there's a potential opportunity to disrupt NetSuite and Sage. Those companies have been around for a very long time. I'm seeing more disruption downmarket, and some of these companies will eventually move upmarket."7 It is one investor's view, not a measured trend.
How long trust takes to build
Awad said relationships with financial institutions typically take 12 to 18 months to establish, and large merchant partnerships up to 24 months.1 He also said Baselayer has "essentially streamlined 10 years' worth of selling into two years."1 That is the company's own account. If agent identity becomes a requirement for trading or paying, those sales cycles may set the pace as much as any regulator does.
What to watch
- December 6, 2026: whether Nasdaq's 23-hour session starts on schedule, given its dependence on SIP readiness and SEC rule changes.2
- Cboe KPI contracts: whether regulators approve them and whether Robinhood lists them.3
- Agent identity: whether Baselayer shows customers for its agent product, beyond the funding round.1
- LY Corp: whether results back the raised guidance of JPY2.33 trillion revenue and JPY640 billion adjusted EBITDA.4
- Regulation: Coinbase gave users a three-day MiCA deadline, converting non-compliant stablecoins to USDC and telling users not to deposit them after October 30.8 Rules, not technology, are setting that pace.