Robinhood Expands European Footprint with Acquisition of Crypto Alternate Bitstamp

• Robinhood agrees to buy Bitstamp for $200M.
• Robinhood’s crypto buying and selling income triples in Q1 2024.
• Bitstamp deal expands Robinhood’s world crypto choices.

Robinhood Markets has agreed to accumulate Bitstamp, a cryptocurrency change, for $200 million in money. This acquisition marks Robinhood’s largest deal to-date and as a part of its enlargement into cryptocurrency choices.

Bitstamp, based in 2011, brings over 85 crypto property and vital regulatory approvals to Robinhood’s platform. The deal will improve Robinhood Crypto’s development and facilitate its world enlargement, particularly in Europe and Asia. Regardless of regulatory challenges within the U.S., Robinhood stays dedicated to partaking with regulators.

Robinhood’s transfer to accumulate Bitstamp comes at a time when the agency is recording vital development in its crypto buying and selling income. For the primary quarter, the income grew to $126 million from $38 million the earlier yr. Additionally, it reported that the entire worth of cryptocurrencies held by the corporate reached $26 billion by the tip of March. This acquisition is predicted to speed up this development, constructing on the present infrastructure and compliance of Bitstamp.

Regardless of this development, Robinhood has confronted regulatory troubles within the U.S. Final month the corporate acquired a Wells discover from the SEC indicating a doable enforcement motion. This discover factors to the SEC’s plans to sue Robinhood over securities regulation violations. Nonetheless, Robinhood stays undeterred and is actively partaking with regulators to deal with these issues.

The acquisition is per Robinhood’s strategic plan of evolving from a primary buying and selling software. Within the final yr, Robinhood added retirement accounts, rolled out a bank card, and introduced plans to additionally provide futures buying and selling. These methods intention to ascertain Robinhood as a one-stop supplier for monetary companies.

Robinhood’s acquisition of Bitstamp is strategic in a manner that it goals to strengthen the corporate’s place within the digital asset markets. The deal is anticipated to be accomplished within the first half of 2025.