Following UK growth, Robinhood brings crypto buying and selling to EU

Robinhood’s long-awaited worldwide growth is at full throttle. The patron buying and selling and funding app tailor-made to the youthful generations is launching its crypto app to all eligible customers within the European Union, the corporate mentioned Thursday.

The announcement comes on the heels of its foray into the U.Okay. only a week in the past. Whereas it’s taking crypto buying and selling to EU clients, it’s solely making its brokerage service obtainable within the U.Okay. for now.

The EU has been on the forefront of formulating rules to implement the traceability of crypto for anti-money laundering and defending retailers from market volatility. Among the many most essential frameworks is the Markets in Crypto-Property (MiCA) rule, which focuses on stablecoin regulation and is seen as one of many world’s most complete regimes for crypto belongings.

“The EU has developed one of many world’s most complete insurance policies for crypto asset regulation, which is why we selected the area to anchor Robinhood Crypto’s worldwide growth plans,” Johann Kerbrat, basic supervisor of Robinhood Crypto, mentioned in an announcement.

Apart from boasting low charges, Robinhood claims it’s the one custodial crypto platform — the place buyer funds lie within the custody of the alternate quite than their self-hosted wallets — will get a share of their buying and selling quantity again each month, paid in Bitcoin. Customers within the EU should purchase and promote some 25 cryptocurrencies, together with main ones like Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Robinhood is taking different measures to guarantee European customers that they’re getting their cash’s value, given its previous enterprise practices have been lower than supreme. Within the U.S., the Securities and Change Fee has criticized the inventory buying and selling app for deceptive customers about the way it makes cash and failing to ship its promise of one of the best execution of trades. It ended up paying $65 million to settle these SEC expenses.

In its crypto endeavor within the EU, Robinhood guarantees transparency by displaying the buying and selling unfold, which incorporates the rebate it receives from promote and commerce orders within the app.

It additionally ensures it would by no means commingle buyer cash with enterprise funds aside from
for working functions, corresponding to cost of community charges. Within the aftermath of FTX’s collapse, customers are more and more cautious of centralized, custodial crypto platforms and switching to decentralized alternate options.

Robinhood itself has been skittish about its crypto operations. In June, it voluntarily moved to restrict the buying and selling and holding of sure tokens for its U.S. clients, at a time when the federal government was taking a firmer stance in opposition to buying and selling giants like Binance and Coinbase.

The Robinhood Crypto app, obtainable on iOS and Android beginning right this moment, is restricted to European residents who’re over 18 years outdated. The platform has plans to incorporate extra tokens and add new options like crypto transfers, staking and studying rewards in 2024.