[NEWS] Robinhood acquires cryptocurrency exchange Bitstamp for approximately $310 million

Robinhood, a stock trading platform, announced on the 6th that it has agreed to acquire cryptocurrency exchange Bitstamp for $200 million.

Robinhood will accelerate its expansion into crypto assets through the largest acquisition in the company's history.

Robinhood's shares have soared about 70% this year since the company declared that it would pursue "profitable growth." Analysts expect further increases due to a reinvigoration of retail trading and increased adoption of crypto assets.

Robinhood, a trading app popular among retail investors, aims to expand its product offerings to grow into a full-fledged financial services provider in the future.

The acquisition of Bitstamp, which was founded in 2011 and holds licenses around the world, will allow Robinhood to compete with major cryptocurrency exchanges such as Binacen and Coinbase.

Bitstamp has offices in Luxembourg, the UK, Slovenia, Singapore and the US. Robinhood will strengthen its services for customers in the EU, UK, US and Asia. It also plans to launch Robinhood's first institutional trading service.

Bitstamp will offer services such as spot trading, staking and lending for more than 85 types of crypto assets. Based in the UK, it has attracted users in the EU, making it a good fit for Robinhood, which wants to further expand its services in the region.

Johann Kerbrat, vice president and general manager of Robinhood Crypto, Robinhood's crypto asset business, said in a statement, "We are still in the early stages in the EU and are excited to expand our scale both in and outside of the EU. The acquisition of Bitstamp will accelerate our global expansion."

Bitstamp CEO JB Graftieaux said, "Bringing our platform and expertise to the Robinhood ecosystem will provide users with an enhanced trading experience, supported by our ongoing commitment to compliance, security and customer centricity." The acquisition is expected to close in the first half of 2025.

Robinhood's cryptocurrency business was the driving force behind the company's strong first-quarter revenue growth. Meanwhile, in May, the company received a Wells Notice from the SEC (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission) announcing enforcement action.

The SEC determined that the cryptocurrency services offered by Robinhood Crypto constitute an offer of unregistered securities. Robinhood has firmly opposed this, stating that it does not violate securities laws, and has indicated that it will fight back to the end.

In light of this situation, Robinhood has stated that it will continue to communicate with the SEC.

Reference: Announcement
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